Forwarded Statement

Press Release May 30, 2006 President Mahinda Rajapakse has recently filled the vacancies in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal without following the constitutional provisions and bypassing the Constitutional Council. These appointments have added to the long list of unconstitutional appointments to several commissions under the 17th Amendment. The political decision taken by President […]

Colombo, 23 May 2006 The South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) has noted that four countries from the region have been elected to the newly formed United Nations Human Rights Council. SAHR is concerned that the human rights records of some countries is abysmal, while others suffer in areas of concern. At the same time […]

Dear friends, We are reproducing the statement of an independent group who is calling for a discussion on “Saving Sri Lanka from the brink of disaster”. In the paper this group sets the present conflict in Sri Lanka within the context of the collapse of the state and calls for a debate on this issue.  […]

adopted by the House of Representative on May 18, 2006. In respect of the sacrifices and participation made by the Nepalese people in the peaceful joint people’s movement, In due attention to the fact that the people had shown keen interest through the peaceful joint people’s movement that took place some time back, on establishing […]

Background: Sri Lanka’s past history of insulating its public service from political interference has not been admirable.?Framers of both the First Republican Constitution, (The 1972 Constitution) and the Second Republican Constitution (The 1978 Constitution) removed provisions in the Independence Constitution that attempted to provide protection for an independent public service. Direct political influence over the […]

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Professor Philip Alston, today called on the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to take urgent measures to end political killings and to strengthen protection for human rights as conflict looked set to spiral out of control. “The […]

Dear friends,   Please find a letter written to the international community by a group of Nepali activists being detained in Duwakot Armed Police barracks, criticising the response to King Gyanendra’s public address made on Friday April 21, 2006.   Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong   — To the Ambassadors Of the European Union […]

The meaning of a Constitution is to be found, not in slavish adherence to the letter, which sometimes killeth, but in the discovery of its spirit, which giveth life…”[1] The general dismay voiced over the non-functioning of the Constitutional Council for over a year is shared by the Civil Rights Movement (CRM). Many have observed […]

Yesterday, April 22, we witnessed a in Kathmandu how revolutionary fervour transforms the poor and oppressed people to a determined force for change. The poor of Nepal who for centuries have lived on the crumbs thrown at them by the king and his cohorts, who were treated as chattel and sent out as mercenaries to […]

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) expresses its deep concern and opposition to the decision of President Rajapakse to unilaterally appoint members to the National Public Service Commission and the National Police Commission, in violation of both the letter and the spirit of the . The justification for this intentional violation of the Constitution is […]

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) notes with shock and dismay the appointment of the members to the National Police Commission and Public Service Commission, in violation of the constitutional provisions to protect the integrity of those institutions. It is the Constitutional Council that should select and screen members of all of these commissions established under […]

A Statement by the National Committee for Overseeing the Implementation of the 12 Point Agreement The twelve-point agreement of November 22, 2005 between the Seven Parties Alliance (SPA) and the Communist Party of Nepal ­Maoist (CPN-M) is a concrete road map for resolving the raging armed conflict in Nepal. The agreement created a nation wide […]

The Law Faculty Teachers’ Union of the University of Colombo expresses its deep concern over a statement issued by the Secretary to the Judicial Service Commission published in the Daily News on 6 February, 2006 under the heading “JSC Will Continue to Function Despite Judges’ Resignation”. The statement, which is on the recent resignation of […]

Background: Dr Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party, was sued in 2002 by former Singapore prime ministers Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong for defamation. The courts awarded the case to the plaintiffs and ordered Dr Chee to pay $500,000 in damages. Messrs Lee and Goh then took legal […]

The killings continue.  And no solution is in sight Today, there is complete impunity in the Philippines.  An average of one militant is killed every week.   Seven lawyers have been killed since January this year while nine journalist have so far fallen from assassins’ bullets.  In many of these cases,  no suspects were arrested nor […]

On 1 February 2005, King Gyanendra usurped all executive powers through a royal proclamation and imposed a “state of emergency” in the country that has been precipitously descending into bloody chaos since his throne following the inexplicable massacre of the royal clan on 1 June 2001.   The king tried to justify his autocratic step by […]

Media Release on 18 August 2005 The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka is deeply concerned to note the dramatic increase in child recruitment by the LTTE reported from our offices in the North and East. Despite the recent Security Council Resolution on Children and Armed Conflict adopted on 26 July 2005 , and the […]

2015 New Year’s message from Kofi Annan, Chair of The Elders As Chair of The Elders, Kofi Annan has released a New Year’s message on behalf of The Elders.  He reflects on the events of 2014 and looks towards 2015, saying:  “Today more than ever, we need far-sighted leaders who can see beyond their national […]