“The security regime that was a hallmark of war continues after the LTTE’s defeat – little has changed” – Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.
Hundreds of people languish in arbitrary, illegal and often incommunicado detention in Sri Lanka, vulnerable to torture and extrajudicial execution, despite the end of the country’s long conflict, Amnesty International said in […]

As the country cracks down on peaceful protesters, a company called Qorvis is spinning Washington on their behalf.
Earlier in February , a group of three young Bahrainis arrived in Washington to talk about reform in the small Persian Gulf nation, which has been rocked by Arab Spring protests for the last year. The delegation, including […]

Even as attention is riveted on the bloodshed in Syria, another conflict, far more deadly, is belatedly attracting the notice it deserves.
Beginning this week, the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva has returned to an issue that has haunted it since 2009 — the bloody finish to Sri Lanka’s civil war. That conflict ended on […]

“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision” – Ayn Rand, Russian-American Novelist
Queueing for bread
Forgotten are the days when people waited in line for two to three hours to buy a loaf of bread; forgotten are the days when rice was not available […]

“Unlike the last occasion, however, this time around the sponsor of the resolution is no less than the United States, which is the world’s dominant political and economic power. This time the resolution that is proposed will also be harder to overcome. The indications are that the resolution will call on the Sri Lankan government […]

Ignoring strong objections from Sri Lanka and India, the United States on Wednesday (March 7) moved a resolution at the 19th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, in which it asked the Lankan
government to accept the “assistance” of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to implement the recommendations of the […]

The end of the brutal 30 year old war brought with it a hope of reconciliation, peace, development and equality for all. However in the last three years the Sri Lankan State’s lack of commitment to these basic principles have left
women in the North and East in a vulnerable position. The lack of livelihood, safety […]

DRAFT RESOLUTION on SRI LANKA at the UNHRC 19th Sessions
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights, and other relevant instruments,
Reaffirming that States must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism complies with their obligations under international law, in particular international human […]

Tamara Kunanayakam, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva  gave an interview to a website last week attempting to explain the motivations of the West and mostly the United States for pushing a
resolution against Sri Lanka
Given below are excerpts of the interview with Ambassador Tamara Kunanayakam.
Question: What is the current situation in the Human […]

Sri Lanka is engaged in an all-out effort to stave off a resolution against it at the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva. The United States, the prime backer of the resolution, has circulated a

draft among the Council’s 47 members calling on Colombo to do nothing more than implement the […]