20th January 2021, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The repudiation of Sri Lanka’s commitments to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka by the present government as well as policies and actions intended to reverse even the limited progress made, raise serious concerns about the possibility of obtaining justice for victims of human rights violations. […]
The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is the Chief Law Officer of the State and is considered to be the Head of the legal profession. The Attorney General is accorded a unique constitutional position with regards to his duties, privileges and responsibilities, which are defined by both constitutional and statutory provisions, as well as, through […]
The right to privacy includes the right of individuals to lead their lives in a manner that is reasonably secluded from public scrutiny, and the right to make personal decisions regarding their lives. The importance of privacy and the multitude of practices through which privacy is breached are not fully appreciated by policymakers, businesses as […]
4th September 2020: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply concerned by the changes proposed by the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution Bill gazetted on 2nd September 2020 and its impact on constitutional democracy in Sri Lanka. CPA notes that the proposed amendment rolls back democratic reforms introduced by the Nineteenth Amendment in 2015 […]
Sri Lanka has witnessed a spate of Presidential Task Forces in 2020. Three Task Forces were appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as a response to COVID-19, another relating to poverty alleviation and one on education affairs.[1] The most recent two are the Presidential Task Force to build a Secure Country, Disciplined, Virtuous and Lawful Society […]
The need for prison reforms has been discussed for years in Sri Lanka with very little progress. The COVID19 pandemic has renewed attention to the issue in an urgent manner. Systemic issues within prisons in Sri Lanka expose inmates and staff to heightened risks due to both the contagiousness of the virus as well as […]
Despite the best efforts of health workers on the frontlines in combatting the virus thus far, recent increases in the number of cases demonstrate that the public health crisis presented by COVID-19 is far from averted. This report will illustrate the importance of high levels of testing in formulating an effective response, as we attempt […]