Dear Friends,
We haven’t asked for your help in a while. But we really need it now. Without further funding, we simply won’t be able to continue our work throughout the next year – a year which looks set to be pivotal for the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.
It is hard to believe it, but it is now almost a decade since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, a war in which tens – and possibly hundreds – of thousands of civilians were killed, mostly as a result of government attacks. Since our founding, it has been our mission to support war survivors in their fight for truth and justice, bringing international pressure to bear to ensure that the violations stop and that Sri Lanka’s peace lasts. We have helped to bring about some significant progress. But much much more needs to be done – and time is running out.
Without renewed political will, a UN-sponsored process for dealing with the legacy of the war risks coming to an end in March 2019, with little to show for it. Meanwhile, some of Sri Lanka’s most egregious human rights abusers are threatening a return to power, and with it the limited progress that has been secured over the past few years. Allegations of serious human rights violations, including torture, have sadly persisted.
We are doing our best to respond to these challenges, but we simply can’t do it without the generosity of our supporters, people like you. The Sri Lanka Campaign operates on a shoe-string, with just one permanent member of staff and a small army of volunteers. But we pride ourselves on punching above our weight. This year alone we have:
- Published a ground-breaking report on the ongoing surveillance and intimidation of war-affected individuals in the North and East of Sri Lanka.
- Run a campaign in support of Tamil relatives of the disappeared – securing the support of British MPs and prompting a response from the Office of the President of Sri Lanka.
- Produced an online scorecard enabling diplomats to accurately monitor the government of Sri Lanka’s progress on reconciliation – sharing our findings with decision-makers in Geneva, Brussels and Colombo.
- Addressed a letter to the UN Secretary-General, urging him halt the deployment of Sri Lankan troops as peacekeepers.
- Exposed an effort by a member of the UK House of Lords to white-wash war crimes in Sri Lanka, as reported in Private Eye magazine.
Please help us continue to do this kind of work by making a donation today. Better still, help us campaign sustainably by setting up a regular donation.
Donate an amount of your choosing
However big or small, whatever you chose to give is much needed and much appreciated.
Thank you,
The Sri Lanka Campaign Team
P.S. Help multiply the impact of your donation by sharing this appeal with three friends.
P.P.S. We are a very transparent organisation – non-partisan, multi-ethnic and not in anybody’s pay. Our latest accounts can be found here.