The upcoming local government elections scheduled for May 6 represent more than just another trip to the polling booth. They mark a critical juncture in the country’s democratic journey, emerging from the…
Zoë Rogers is 21, English, a dog-lover. In August 2024, she, together with five others, crashed a modified prison van into Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturing facility in Bristol. The six…
For 25 long years the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Establishment and Maintenance of Places of Unlawful Detention and Torture Chambers at the Batalanda Housing Scheme, better known as…
In a country where abortion remains criminalised under colonial-era laws dating back to 1883, Sri Lanka has long denied women the fundamental right to make decisions about their own bodies. The recent…
For more than two decades, the Batalanda Commission report has languished in the archives of our nation’s history, ignored and forgotten by those who should have cared most [1]. But recent events,…
Arugam Bay, once an idyllic and peaceful coastal town in the southeast, is facing growing tensions as the number of Israeli tourists, particularly those with military connections, continues to rise. The influx…
The UK government has imposed sanctions, which include UK travel bans and asset freezes, on three former military commanders and a Tamil paramilitary leader accused of serious human rights violations and abuses…
Let’s begin with a story. Once upon a time, the prime minister of an island nation was plagued by an outbreak of labour unrest. He summoned the police chief and ordered him…
Following the parliamentary debates on the Women’s Ministry budget allocation commencing March 8, fears are being raised within Muslim communities that reform of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) is an…
In an oral update session on progress in Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, Director of the Global Operations Division in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for…
Sneha About ten years ago, I was staying with a university friend and her family. During my stay, I noticed the way my friend’s husband spoke to her: it was often belittling…
The statistics speak for themselves. Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) as well as child abuse have reached alarming proportions throughout the country; several cases are reported daily in the media. One…
During their campaigns for the presidential and parliamentary elections, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his National People’s Power (NPP) party made several promises to voters on a wide range of issues including…
“ In 2009, Mahinda Rajapaksa conquered Sri Lanka. In 2010, he set out to conquer the world with an address to the Oxford Union. Although the visit was a private one, a…
A year ago, Sri Lanka hurriedly passed legislation that fundamentally undermined human rights in ways unprecedented in the country’s history. The Online Safety Act (OSA), rammed through parliament without meaningful consultation, represents…
