Study Shows Civil War Caused Long Lasting Trauma in Birds
Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war left a lasting impression on humans and animals. For me, being part of this study gave me the opportunity to be the first person in my family…
Post-War
Scotland, Diaspora Campaigning and Human Rights
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s visit to Scotland for an international environmental summit put the regime’s grim human rights track record in the spotlight. Failure to care for the environment has already been noted.…
Shaping a Single Narrative, courtesy the Clergy and Task Forces
The recent appointment of a task force mandated with law reform headed by a controversial Buddhist monk has raised concerns from multiple fronts. Yet, considering recent trends in Sri Lanka, this should…
Pursuing Justice and Accountability for the Navy 11
There is an air of weariness around the small protest at Hulftsdorp outside of the Supreme Court. They silently unfold the banners as they have done countless times before, lining up in…
The Role of the Public in Fighting Racial Nationalism and Religious Extremism
It is not strange to Sri Lanka that race, religion and culture are continuously exploited by politicians to maintain their voter base and to secure their seat in governance. It is a…
When Impunity Becomes the Norm
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s maiden speech to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September this year contained several ambitious statements. In particular, the following lines in his speech raised the hopes of…
Failing to Defend the Indefensible in Geneva
Currently as the UN General Assembly (UNGA) sessions proceed in New York, the real action is at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, where the conduct of the Sri Lankan…
Adhering to Human Rights – The Time for Words is Over
When a government contravenes the rule of law, crushes human rights, reneges on its responsibility of protecting its own citizens and begins attacking them instead, the international community will step in. It…
Sri Lanka in Quicksand at UN Human Rights Council
As the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) meets for its 48th session, the dire situation in Sri Lanka is under international scrutiny. Amidst ongoing concerns, work has begun on holding the…
Confronting the State on Disappearances
August 30 is marked across much of the world as the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. For the families and the friends of the disappeared and human rights groups…
New Mechanisms Required to Ensure Justice for the Disappeared
Today of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances “Sri Lanka has the world’s second-highest number of cases registered with the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.…
Exploring Tamil-Muslim Relations in The Single Tumbler
Sunday Times In October 1990, The LTTE ordered some 75,000 Muslims in the Jaffna peninsula to leave their homes within 48 hours; they were allowed to take Rs. 300 and some clothes.…
Facing the Ongoing Trauma of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
Almost every conflict around the world from Bosnia to Syria, Myanmar, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka, involves Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). It refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion,…
Water Over the Vaduvakkal Bridge
Breakfast for three, hundred and fifty rupees. A trail of tea travelling through cups of steel, One held over another. Trees burdened by what they’ve witnessed, Hunched over. A sly wink. A…
12 Years of Seeking Hope After Three Decades of War
It must be an occasion for us as Sri Lankans to assess progress we have made in addressing root causes for the conflict through a political process and moving forward towards co-existence…
