May 18, 2022
there is neither sea nor wind for us to dissolve the ashes proclaim an end and close our eyes. -Poem by Cheran Rudhramoorthy from In a Time of Burning 13 years ago, the Sri Lankan civil war came to an end following a brutal offensive launched by the government’s armed...
May 16, 2022
In a turbulent week in Sri Lanka, peaceful protests were attacked, the Prime Minister resigned, the military were deployed to the streets of Colombo, and a new (but old) Prime Minister was appointed. How did we get here? For over a month, thousands of Sri...
Apr 5, 2022
Over the weekend, Sri Lanka has been rocked by protests, police violence, curfews, and political turmoil. A lot has happened in a short space of time, and the situation is developing rapidly. Whilst the fallout from the economic crisis and the President’s declaration...
Mar 17, 2022
The 49th Human Rights Council has been in session for the past few weeks, discussing a variety of human rights issues from around the globe. On 4 and 7 March, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) presented a summary of a damning new report on...
Mar 4, 2022
by Alan Keenan London School of Economics and Political Science, GCRF Gender, Justice and Security Hub The original version of this essay was delivered as a presentation to a webinar organised by Le Conseil Universel des Droits de L’Homme (UHRC), ‘Undermining...
Feb 10, 2022
On 7 February 2022, after more than 21 months in detention, the Colombo Court of Appeal granted bail to Hejaaz Hizbullah, a prominent human rights lawyer and activist. Hejaaz was initially arrested by Sri Lankan security forces on 14 April 2020 under the draconian...