Osama Bin Laden and Sri Lanka’s WMD Moment
Image courtesy stuff.co.nz The killing of Osama Bin Laden by chopper-borne US Special forces and Navy Seals is good news and a job well done by that country. Shortly after the attack…
War Crimes
Violence and accountability
Cartoon by Albert Ashok As conflict raged, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights had stern words for those on both sides. “All violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law…
War Crimes Accountability In Sri Lanka: Is There A Liberal Democratic Alternative To International Action?
Sri Lanka’s President pictured here with the Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal (L) and his brother Basil Rajapaksa, the Economic Development Minister (R) has repeatedly called the war a…
Much ado about nothing: Is Sri Lanka in danger of being held accountable by the International Criminal Court?
Image from Joe Klamar/AFP/GETTY Early last year I set about examining, as a recent graduate, the feasibility of any citizen of Sri Lanka being tried in the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the…
Reconciliation and accountability after the UN Panel’s report: Challenges and opportunities for Sri Lanka and the UN system
Image courtesy Huffington Post Asia Pacific Forum is a pan-Asian radio show broadcast every Monday night from 9-10pm on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York City and live on the web. WBAI…
An elephantine gestation: UN Panel’s report on accountability in Sri Lanka released
Leaked versions of the UN Panel’s report found their way into . The UN had earlier expressed its deep regret over the leak to mainstream print media in Sri Lanka. Accusations between Palitha…
The cynical manipulation of international law: Murdering civilians in No Fire Zones and other war crimes allegations
has contextualised in detail the Executive Summary and Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the leaks. published today Part 7 which deals with credible allegations of war crimes by the Sri Lankan Government and its armed…
The Darusman Report: Reflections on the real challenges ahead for Sri Lanka
In less than two weeks since the Darusman Report (hereinafter referred to as the Report) was handed over to the United Nations Secretary General (hereinafter referred to as UNSG), a large number…
UNSG Panel Report on Sri Lanka: Revisiting ‘Accountability’
Original photo from JDS Ensuring ‘accountability’ is important, but doing so is a complex task. Who is to ensure accountability, when, where, how? – are questions which have always aroused serious debate,…
Cluster munitions, inhumane IDP camp conditions and the White Flag incident: More disturbing leaks from UN report
has contextualised in detail the Executive Summary and Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the leaks. , the conditions faced by IDPs interned in camps after the end of war, allegations of the use…
Petition against UN Panel’s report on accountability: Opposing what exactly?
The report on accountability produced by the panel appointed by the UN Secretary General hasn’t yet officially released it to the public domain. What little is known of its contents comes from…
No respite even after war: The rape, execution, torture and disappearances of IDPs in Sri Lanka
has covered in detail the Executive Summary and Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the leaks. published today Part 5, which focusses on the conditions faced by IDPs in the aftermath of the violent denouement…
Debating numbers, killing lives: UN and Government differences emerge
has covered in detail the Executive Summary and Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the leaks. published today Part 4, which focusses on the significant discrepancies between the United Nations and the…
Shelling hospitals ‘packed with children, babies and the elderly’: Continuing leaks from the elusive UN report
published today Part 3, which focusses on the shelling of hospitals. As before, we provide context and background information to frame these highlights. Please be warned that some of the following highlights…
New leaks of UN war crimes report: Shelling civilians, horrifying medical conditions and failure of the UN system in Sri Lanka?
newspaper on Saturday. On the 17th and 19th of April, the newspaper published two more excerpts from the body text of the report. Going by the newspaper’s introduction to Part 1, we…