Dear Friends,
2017 will be a critical year for Sri Lanka. In March, the UN Human Rights Council will decide whether to extend its monitoring of Sri Lanka’s justice and reconciliation process. Given the very limited progress to date, it is absolutely essential that this happens – and the Sri Lanka Campaign, along with many others, will be fighting tooth and nail to ensure that it does.
Yet we face an uphill battle. Recent political changes around the world have created new uncertainty about the international community’s commitment to standing up for the rights of Sri Lanka’s war survivors, and for applying the pressure necessary to realise a just and lasting peace. It is our role to ensure that it does not drop the ball at this crucial moment.
Global events this month – from Syria, to Yemen, to South Sudan – are an appalling reminder of the civilian costs of war and of the dreadful consequences of international inaction. The echoes of Sri Lanka’s recent experience are in many ways stark. Those trapped in the ‘No Fire Zones’ during the final stages of the civil war, and those who endured the many human rights violations carried out in its aftermath, also knew the feeling of being abandoned and forgotten. But we have not forgotten them. And we will not abandon their fight for justice.
Over the past year we continued to scrutinise the government of Sri Lanka’s promises to address the wounds of the past and we advocated, at all levels, for those to be kept [1]. We worked to amplify the voices of war survivors and demanded that their views be heard [2]. We stood up for journalists and human rights defenders at risk of persecution [3], and we campaigned for reforms to address the root causes of state repression [4].
Please help us continue this work next year by making a donation to our 2016 Christmas Appeal. Better still, you can help us campaign even more effectively by setting up a regular donation. As a small organisation with few overheads, even a little goes a very long way.
Click here to donate £100 or another amount of your choosing
Whatever you are able to give, it is much needed and much appreciated.
Thank you,
The Sri Lanka Campaign Team
P.S. Have you seen our latest campaign urgently calling on the EU not to turn a blind eye to torture in Sri Lanka? If not, please take a moment to sign – and share. Thank you.
[1] https://www.srilankacampaign.org/take-action/keep-the-promise/ [2] https://www.srilankacampaign.org/sri-lankas-path-peace/ [3] https://www.srilankacampaign.org/violent-attack-journalist-freddy-gamage/ [4] https://www.srilankacampaign.org/cure-far-worse-disease-sri-lankas-new-draft-counter-terrorism-law/