• Sri Lanka: Australia Should Raise Torture Concerns
    Press release
    Apr 30, 2012
    Australia’s immigration minister should raise concerns with Sri Lankan officials about alleged arbitrary arrest and torture of people who were refused asylum and sent back to Sri Lanka when he visits this week.
  • UN Rights Council: Sri Lanka Vote a Strong Message for Justice
    Press release
    Mar 22, 2012

    The United Nations Human Rights Council’s adoption of a resolution on Sri Lanka demonstrates strong international support for accountability for abuses committed in Sri Lanka’s armed conflict. 

  • Philippines should stand for justice
    Commentary
    Mar 20, 2012
    Last month the Philippines abstained in a vote at the United Nations General Assembly calling for accountability for government atrocities in Syria.
  • With Sri Lanka Resolution, Indonesia Has Chance to Show International Leadership
    Commentary
    Mar 14, 2012

    Indonesia stood up to be counted recently, joining in a call for accountability for government crimes against the people of Syria. 

  • Singapore: Domestic Workers to Get Weekly Day of Rest
    Press release
    Mar 5, 2012
    The decision by Singapore’s Manpower Ministry to grant foreign domestic workers a weekly rest day is an important reform but falls short of international standards. The changes, announced on March 5, 2012, go into effect only for new contracts beginning in January 2013 and do not address the exclusion of domestic workers from other key labor protections in Singapore’s Employment Act.
  • Statement on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council
    Oral statement
    Mar 2, 2012

    The High Commissioner noted that the report of the Sri Lanka Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission falls short of the comprehensive accountability process recommended by the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts  

  • UK: Halt Deportations of Tamils to Sri Lanka
    Press release
    Feb 24, 2012

    The United Kingdom should suspend deportations of ethnic Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka and immediately review its policies and information about the country’s rights situation used to assess their claims.

  • Sri Lanka: Army Inquiry a Delaying Tactic
    Press release
    Feb 15, 2012

    The Sri Lankan army’s announcement that it had appointed a five-member court of inquiry to investigate allegations that its forces committed serious violations of the laws of war appears to be another government delaying tactic in the face of mounting international pressure.

  • Getting children off the battlefield
    Commentary
    Feb 13, 2012
    The experience of the last decade, shows that the governments and groups still using child soldiers are increasingly considered pariahs, and that strategic pressure and the new consensus of international law can protect children from war. The challenge now is to build on the momentum that exists, and to make better use of the existing tools — including sanctions, prosecutions, and UN negotiations — to persuade the remaining outliers that children have no place in war.
  • Sri Lanka: UN Must Act at Next Human Rights Council Session
    Press release
    Feb 2, 2012
    The United Nations Human Rights Council should address the lack of accountability for wartime abuses in Sri Lanka during its March 2012 session.