Day: 21 June 2016

Sri Lanka’s Long Road to Reform: The Human Rights Council’s continued critical role

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As the United Nations Human Rights Council meets in Geneva this month, it’s time to assess how far Sri Lanka has come since last year’s passage of a landmark resolution to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights. By ALAN KEENAN for International Crisis Group. First published by International Crisis Group Resolution 30/1, adopted in October, was a major achievement for the United Nations Human Rights Council – and an important milestone in Sri Lanka’s journey toward lasting peace and a just settlement of its decades-old ethnic conflict. Following years of…

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EU REFERENDUM:SL MUST BE PREPARED TO FACE POSSIBLE ECONOMIC SHOCKS

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On coming Thursday, the UK will vote in a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU. The decision of the majority of the UK citizens at the referendum will be vital in the context of international politics as well as the global economy. With the heat of the referendum starting to be felt, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe too, expressed his ideas over the matter and said that Sri Lanka is very concerned about the probable impact of the referendum. The concerns of the Sri Lankan…

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Cluster bombs used in Sri Lanka’s civil war, leaked photos suggest

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Exclusive: images appear to confirm use of the indiscriminate weapon in a conflict which cost the lives of at least 100,000 Remnants of what appears to be an RBK-500 AO-2.5RT cluster bomb uncovered near Chalai, Sri Lanka. Photograph: Source Images that appear to confirm the use of cluster bombs in the end stages of Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war have been uncovered as new testimony emerged suggesting the country’s armed forces may have deployed the munition against civilians. The revelations are likely to prompt serious questions for the current Sri…

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Why the UN Human Rights Council Must Stay Engaged in Sri Lanka

Karu

As the United Nations Human Rights Council meets in Geneva this month, it’s time to assess how far Sri Lanka has come since last year’s passage of a landmark resolution to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights. Resolution 30/1, adopted in October, was a major achievement for the Council – and an important milestone in Sri Lanka’s journey toward lasting peace and a just settlement of its decades-old ethnic conflict. Following years of bitter resistance by the previous Sri Lankan government to international efforts to encourage post-war reconciliation and accountability,…

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TNA briefs UN on Govt. progress

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Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP and Spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran  met the UN High Commissioner for Human Right Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein last Thursday (16) and briefed him on the progress made by the Government on addressing key issues raised by the UN. The TNA earlier said that it would meet Al-Hussein to brief on the situation before he makes his oral submissions at the ongoing UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had earlier called for an inclusive and meaningful engagement of all…

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The battle in Geneva

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By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan Against the backdrop of a statement made by former Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa that there’s no Tamil problem for a political solution, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a democratically elected political party called as the ‘mirror of Tamil Tigers’, and some others seeking a ‘balanced’ justice for all Sri Lankans killed either by the LTTE or the security forces, the government is in the process of ‘narrowing’ the ‘outsized’ United Nations Human Rights Resolution (UNHRR) passed on Sri Lanka. The list of proposals in the…

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