Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Amnesty International Briefing

Published by on November 5, 2013

5 November Amnesty International On 15-17 November 2013, Sri Lanka will host the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in its capital Colombo, after which Sri Lanka is expected to chair the Commonwealth for two years. The choice of venue has, to say the least, proved controversial given Sri Lanka’s appalling human rights record. This briefing outlines some of the concerns Amnesty International has about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. View full briefing here.  

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Sri Lanka: Banning Commonwealth summit protests a blatant attempt to silence criticism

Published by on October 10, 2013

Published by Amnesty International 10th October 2013 Banning Commonwealth summit protests a blatant attempt to silence criticism Sri Lanka’s reported decision to ban all protests in its capital Colombo and other locations around a key Commonwealth summit would be a blatant attempt to sweep human rights abuses under the carpet, said Amnesty International. According to Sri Lankan news reports, the government today announced that protests, marches and the display of banners and black flags will be banned in the city of Colombo and other locations where delegates are expected to visit during the first three weeks of November. This coincides Read the full article…

Sri Lanka: UN visit underscores disturbing human rights reality

Published by on August 31, 2013

31 August 2013 Amnesty International Sri Lankan leaders must address the persistent climate of fear in the country, Amnesty International said, as the UN human rights chief Navi Pillay concluded her visit to the island. Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made her first official visit to Sri Lanka from 25-31 August. It comes just before the UN and Commonwealth review the country’s human rights situation in September. At her concluding press conference today, Pillay stressed that many who met or wanted to meet her during the visit had been threatened by security forces, and that critical voices in Sri Read the full article…

Sri Lanka: UK Home Office Operational Guidance Note

Published by on August 1, 2013

Published by UK Home Office July 2013 This document provides Home Office caseworkers with guidance on the nature and handling of the most common types of claims received from nationals/residents of Sri Lanka, including whether claims are or are not likely to justify the granting of asylum, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave. Caseworkers must refer to the relevant asylum instructions for further details of the policy on these areas. CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Country assessment Actors of protection Internal relocation Country guidance caselaw 3. Main categories of claims Tamils suspected of links to the LTTE Fear of the LTTE Opposition Read the full article…

Sri Lanka: Freedom of the Press 2013

Published by on July 24, 2013

Freedom House 24 July 2013 Media freedom remained restricted in Sri Lanka in 2012, with journalists subject to myriad forms of legal harassment and physical intimidation. Although the government included several items related to media freedom in its July 2012 National Action Plan on national reconciliation – including the passage of freedom of information legislation, enhanced efforts to investigate and prosecute past cases of attacks on journalists, and increased physical access for reporters to the north and east of the country – little progress was made on any of these recommendations by year’s end. Read full report here.  

Sri Lanka: 6 point human rights agenda for dissemination to sections and for digital platform “Tell the Truth”

Published by on July 4, 2013

Amnesty International 2013 Four years have passed since the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan authorities continue to deny mounting evidence of crimes under international law committed by its forces during Sri Lanka’s protracted armed conflict. They also attempt to stop their own citizens from communicating with the UN and other international bodies about serious violations they have witnessed. Amnesty International is calling on the Government of Sri Lanka to “Tell the Truth” on arbitrary detention and torture. Before the Heads of Commonwealth Government’s Meeting (CHOGM) in November this year, the government should: Repeal the Prevention Read the full article…

Sri Lanka: New country guidance case

Published by on July 3, 2013

GJ v Secretary of State for the Home Department (post-civil war: returnees) Sri Lanka CG [2013] UKUT 319 (IAC) (03 July 2013) (1) This determination replaces all existing country guidance on Sri Lanka. (2) The focus of the Sri Lankan government’s concern has changed since the civil war ended in May 2009. The LTTE in Sri Lanka itself is a spent force and there have been no terrorist incidents since the end of the civil war. (3) The government’s present objective is to identify Tamil activists in the diaspora who are working for Tamil separatism and to destabilise the unitary Read the full article…

Sri Lanka: Freedom in the World 2013

Published by on June 10, 2013

Freedom House 10 June 2013 President Mahinda Rajapaksa maintained a firm grip on power in 2012, and the judiciary’s independence from the executive and legislative branches was seriously compromised by the start of impeachment procedures against the chief justice of the Supreme Court in November following a ruling that was unfavorable to the government. The situation for human rights defenders and journalists remained grim, with numerous attacks and cases of intimidation occurring amid a climate of nationalist rhetoric and impunity. The government continued to reject credible allegations of war crimes committed in the final phase of its military campaign against Read the full article…

Sri Lanka: Amnesty International Annual Report 2013

Published by on May 23, 2013

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 Unlawful detentions, torture and enforced disappearances remained rife and went unpunished. Government officials and supporters harassed and threatened human rights defenders, journalists and members of the judiciary who spoke out about abuses of power or advocated human rights accountability. More than three years after the armed conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended, impunity persisted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The government failed to implement recommendations aimed at accountability made by Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and the UN Human Rights Read the full article…

Sri Lanka: No Progress Four Years On

Published by on May 20, 2013

Human Rights Watch 20 May 2013 Respect for basic rights and liberties has declined in Sri Lanka in the four years since the government defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This week marks the fourth anniversary of the brutal civil war’s end. Since the end of the 26-year-long civil war, the Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has resisted taking meaningful steps to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes by government forces and the LTTE, end the crackdown against the independent media and human rights activists, and stop ongoing abuses against suspected LTTE supporters. Government pledges to Read the full article…