Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership, the Sri Lankan civil war reached a brutal conclusion on May 18, 2009, ending a 25-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist rebel group. Rooted in longstanding grievances, including discriminatory policies against Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, the conflict saw the [...]
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Explainer: Competing Legislative Agendas Come to a Head in Sri Lanka
The year 2024 is an important one for Sri Lanka. It is a presidential election year, and a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council to gather evidence of international crimes for use in future prosecutions is due for renewal. After the public ousters of the former-elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2023, Ranil Wickremesinghe [...]
Sri Lanka repatriates 21 Indian fishermen detained on allegations of illegal poaching
The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday that 21 Indian fishermen, who were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy due to alleged involvement in illegal poaching in Sri Lankan waters, were repatriated from Sri Lanka to Chennai, India. Fishing is a bone of contention between India [...]
Sri Lankan Prison Commissioner Gamini Dissanayake announced earlier this week that President Ranil Wickremesinghe pardoned over 1,000 prisoners because of the Christmas holiday. The exact number released was 1,004, comprising 989 men and 15 women. A majority of those who were pardoned by the president Sunday were those accused of being unable to pay outstanding [...]
Sri Lanka to establish independent commission for truth and reconciliation
The Sri Lankan government announced Friday the establishment an independent Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation through an act introduced in Sri Lanka’s Parliament. The government stated that the commission is intended to “ensure an inclusive process in developing legislation that strengthens and safeguards national unity through truth, transitional justice, reconciliation, reparation and social cohesion.” The [...]
Stephen Rapp, an American lawyer and diplomat, has been a leading figure in international criminal law and human rights. He was appointed as the US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues in 2009, overseeing investigations and prosecutions of war criminals worldwide. Rapp’s commitment to justice and ending impunity was evident during his tenure, supporting [...]
The Unfulfilled Duty: 75 Years of the Universal Declaration and Genocide Convention
This weekend marks the 75th anniversary of one of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). On December 9 we see the anniversary of the Genocide Convention, signed on the December 9, 1948, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights signed 75 years ago. It represents an an important occasion that aims to raise [...]
Crackdown on Tamil Commemoration: How Sri Lanka’s Use of Terrorism Law Sparks International Concern
Last week, Tamils in Sri Lanka and across the globe observed Maveerar Naal, an annual commemoration honoring fallen Tamil separatist soldiers of the Sri Lankan Civil War. In the aftermath of their observance, the Sri Lankan government conducted widespread arrests against Tamils who had participated. By November 30, the government had arrested at least 10 [...]
Germany among 7 countries with downgraded civic space ratings in CIVICUS Monitor report
Germany’s civic space was rated as “narrow” in a new report from global rights watchdog CIVICUS Monitor. Germany was one of seven countries downgraded in the People Under Attack 2023 report, which analysed how governments protect citizens’ freedom of expression in 198 countries. The report found that over 30 percent of the world’s population now [...]
Global dispatch: international reporting and views on Israel-Gaza conflict vary
In this first-of-its-kind JURIST “global dispatch” on a single topic, 15 law students and young lawyers from around the world, all of them JURIST correspondents from outside of Israel and Palestine, join together to offer a panoramic view of how the current Gaza conflict is unfolding in their countries and regions. Beyond the headlines, they [...]