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1. 

   October 9, 2018 News Release

   Sri Lanka: Government Slow to Return Land

   Create Consultative Process to End Military Occupation

   Expand A Sri Lankan Tamil man holds a placard during a protest in Colombo on August 21, 2018, demanding the release of lands still occupied by the military.  © 2018 Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo  (New York) – The Sri Lankan government has yet to fully restore civilian ownership of land and property ...

2. 

   April 25, 2016 Commentary

   Transparency Key as Rights Commission Deadline Looms

   January 2015 saw a momentous change in Sri Lanka. After nearly 10 years of increasingly authoritarian rule, a new government promising change was voted into office. The new government immediately set about righting many of the wrongs of the previous Rajapaksa government, including an openness ...

3. 

   September 28, 2015 News Release

   Sri Lanka: UN Resolution Could Advance Justice

   International Participation, Monitoring Crucial for Reforms

   Expand The core group presenting the Sri Lanka Resolution to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland on September 21, 2015. © 2015 Sunanda Deshapriya (Geneva) – The United Nations Human Rights Council should adopt a resolution ensuring a robust international role in Sri Lanka ...

4. 

   February 19, 2016 Commentary

   Sri Lanka After the Tigers

   Letter from Mannar

   The causeway that links northern Sri Lanka ’s mainland to Mannar Island is lined with vast military barracks. They have a nicely settled air about them, with painted flowerpots out front and T-shirts drying on clotheslines. Between the army camps are red-roofed cottages peeping through coconut ...

5. 

   February 10, 2016 News Release

   Sri Lanka: Investigate, Not Promote, Ex-Army Chief

   Fonseka’s Appointment to Parliament Contradicts Accountability Pledge

   (New York) – The Sri Lankan government’s appointment to parliament of the former army chief whose forces were implicated in widespread abuses contradicts pledges to investigate alleged war crimes, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 9, 2016, the United National Party of Prime Minister Ranil ...

6. July 1, 1995 Report

   Stop Killings of Civilians

   Language English Following the outbreak of the third phase of the Sri Lankan civil war on April 19, 1995, the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE engaged in acts of violence that had by July claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians. Asia Sri Lanka International Justice Read the report Following ...

7. September 25, 2014 Statement

   UN Human Rights Council: General Debate on Sri Lanka and South Sudan

   HRC 27 -- Statement Delivered Under Item 10

   Human Rights Watch welcomes the High Commissioner's update on Sri Lanka. We regret that senior officials in the Sri Lankan government have rejected the 2014 Human Rights Council resolution asking the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to independently investigate ...

8. September 8, 2014 Statement

   UN Human Rights Council: Welcoming New High Commissioner Prince Zeid and Highlighting Obstacles HRC is Facing

   Statement Delivered Under Item 2

   We welcome the introductory statement of High Commissioner Prince Zeid and wish him all the best in his new role. One of the key challenges the High Commissioner has highlighted is addressing the root causes of gross human rights violations, including the denial of fundamental economic and social ...

9. September 9, 2013 Statement

   UN Human Rights Council: HRW Reaction to the High Commissioner's Update on Egypt, Sri Lanka and Bahrain

   HRC 24th Session - Statement Delivered Under Item 2, General Debate

   We thank the High Commissioner for her statement and welcome her offices' engagement on the situation in Egypt. The past two months have seen unprecedented human rights abuses in Egypt, with the largest single incident of mass killing by security services on August 14. Human Rights Watch ...

10. March 14, 2013 Statement

    UN Human Rights Council: Adoption of the Outcome of Sri Lanka's UPR

    Item 6

    During the UPR process in November 2012, Sri Lanka rejected 100 recommendations – nearly half of those proposed by United Nations member states, including many related to accountability and justice issues.  Among the rejected recommendations was one to implement the government’s own Lessons Learnt ...

11. November 14, 2012 News Release

    UN: Act on Failings in Sri Lanka

    Appoint Independent Inquiry Into Violations by Government and Tamil Tigers

    (New York) – The United Nations secretary-general’s internal review on UN action in Sri Lanka should lead to specific and concrete measures to ensure the UN takes all needed measures to prevent mass atrocities in future conflicts, Human Rights Watch said today. The “ Internal Review Panel on United ...

12. August 1, 2011 News Release

    Sri Lanka: Official Report Whitewashes Military Abuses

    Admits Civilian Deaths for the First Time, but Puts All Blame on Tamil Tigers

    (New York) – A new Sri Lankan Defense Ministry report concedes for the first time that government forces caused civilian deaths in the final months of the conflict with the Tamil Tigers but takes no responsibility for laws-of-war violations, Human Rights Watch said today. The report, “ Humanitarian ...

13. June 17, 2009 News Release

    Sri Lanka: International Investigation Needed

    End of Government Commission on Wartime Abuses Puts Justice at Risk

    (New York)- The Sri Lankan government's announcement that it was ending its special inquiry into conflict-related abuses underscores the need for an international commission to investigate violations of international law by government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Human ...

14. May 21, 2009 News Release

    Sri Lanka: Ban Visit Should Focus on Displaced

    Press for Government Action on Humanitarian Aid and Human Rights

    (New York)- On his trip to Sri Lanka, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should highlight the plight of civilians displaced by the fighting that ended Sri Lanka's war, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Ban.  Human Rights Watch urged Ban to use his May 23, 2009, trip to Sri Lanka to ...

15. May 21, 2009 Letter

    Letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on His Trip to Sri Lanka

    Dear Secretary-General, We are writing in advance of your upcoming visit to Sri Lanka on May 23. The Sri Lankan government's victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) signals an end to the devastating 25-year-long war in Sri Lanka.  We hope it also marks the end to the numerous ...

16. May 8, 2009 News Release

    Sri Lanka: Repeated Shelling of Hospitals Evidence of War Crimes

    30 Attacks Reported on Medical Facilities Since December

    (New York)- The Sri Lankan armed forces have repeatedly struck hospitals in the northern Vanni region in indiscriminate artillery and aerial attacks, Human Rights Watch said today. Commanders responsible for ordering or conducting such attacks may be prosecuted for war crimes. Patients, medical ...

17. April 27, 2009 News Release

    Sri Lanka: Government Admission Shows Need for UN Inquiry

    Visiting Envoys Should Make Civilian Protection Top Priority

    (New York)- The Sri Lankan government's admission that it has been using heavy weapons in an area crowded with displaced civilians underscores the need for an international commission of inquiry into violations of the laws of war by government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ...

18. April 27, 2009 Q & A

    Q & A on Accountability for Violations of International Humanitarian Law in Sri Lanka

    Human Rights Watch is calling for a United Nations commission of inquiry to investigate violations of international humanitarian law by both Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the recent fighting. This Q & A addresses various issues relating to ...

19. April 20, 2009 Background Briefing

    Taking the Next Step

    Strengthening the Security Council’s Response to Sexual Violence and Attacks on Education in Armed Conflict

    be at particular risk of violence while en route to school. This may include providing transportation to school, ... if children are targeted by gender. For example, if girls are vulnerable to sexual violence en route ...

20. May 5, 2008 Statement

    Universal Periodic Review of Sri Lanka

    Human Rights Watch's Submission to the Human Rights Council

    Summary Major hostilities between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) resumed in mid-2006 and in January 2008 the government formally withdrew from the ceasefire in place since 2002. Since then the fighting has claimed hundreds of civilians lives, and tens of ...

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