Centre for Policy Alternatives on 24 November, 2020 In this series of papers, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) looks at legal and policy reform needed to address Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). CPA identifies several areas in which the statute books need to be updated in order to ensure that the safety and dignity of women are protected, but also it is […]
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 10 November, 2020 This paper examines the ways in which the Sri Lankan Government has been able to employ a counterintuitive and underexamined type of populist rhetoric, that of technocratic populism. It looks at the ways in which both technocratic and populist narratives are combined, creating an ideological framework which serves to sanitize increasingly authoritarian actions. It focuses […]
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 21 September, 2020 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 […]
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 4 June, 2018 June 4th 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka: Reparations are an essential part of transitional justice and focus on recognising and repairing past abuses. In 2015, the Government of Sri Lanka recognised the right to reparations by committing to the establishment of an Office for Reparations through at the 30th Session of the United Nations Human Rights […]
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 14 February, 2017 14th February 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka: There is now a growing consensus that victims must be at the heart of any transitional justice process. Since 2015 and the government’s promise to introduce transitional justice mechanisms in Sri Lanka, these terms have been used by varied stakeholders. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has consistently called […]
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 31 March, 2016 Memorialisation is an important tool in addressing conflict situations where years of repression, social inequality and injustice have created polarised communities. Memory initiatives can be a great healer and an enabler of reconciliation, paving ways and opportunities for dialogue, understanding, apologising, acknowledging and addressing past violence between divided societies. The change in the political environment […]
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 18 January, 2016 The 2015 political transition in Sri Lanka witnessed several promises for reform. One area in the reform agenda includes the processes and mechanisms for transitional justice. The resolution titled ‘Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ adopted at the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2015 provides with it a broad framework for consideration. […]