Triumphant return for president who 'achieved a great victory' at UNHRC, as he pledges 'domestic inquiry'

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena returned from his trip to the UN General Assembly in New York to a triumphant welcome, as Singhalese across the south celebrated the UNHRC resolution as a victory over the imposition of international involvement in a hybrid mechanism. Huge crowds had gathered at the airport to receive the president, as Buddhist monks chanted and bestowed blessing on him. Speaking soon after his arrival, President Sirisena said Sri Lanka "achieved a great victory" , as the international community appreciated steps taken by the government to address human rights concerns, while the government succeeded in averting the " electric chair ", an international investigation, and a hybrid special court in the resolution passed on Thursday.

NGOs call for internationalised accountability process and monitoring of ongoing violations against victim Tamil community in Sri Lanka

Non-Governmental Organisations stressed the importance of ongoing monitoring in Sri Lanka, an internationalised judicial process for accountability, ending ongoing violations against the majority victim Tamil community and seeking a lasting political solution during the general debate on the OISL report into Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Addressing member states of the UNHRC during the debate, United Nations Watch condemning the ongoing “oppression of the Tamils” in Sri Lanka, called on the new government to “end impunity” and deliver a credible process for reconciliation and accountability.

Strong calls for Sri Lanka to implement said commitments and deliver justice as OISL discussed at UNHRC

Updated 01 Oct 2015 09:21 GMT There were strong calls from member states at the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday for the new Sri Lankan government to deliver concrete steps on its said commitments towards justice and accountability, as the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' Investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) was discussed at the Council. Find our live coverage of the discussion on our Twitter feed here . Introducing the debate High Commissioner, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, reiterated the report's recommendation that a hybrid special court be established in order to give confidence to the victims and their families in the process of justice and accountability.

Remembering Thileepan

Lt. Col. Thileepan addresses crowds at Nallur, Jaffna as he commences his hunger strike. Today marks the 28th anniversary of the death of Lt. Col Thileepan, after he fasted to death on hunger strike, appealing to the Indian government to honour pledges made to the Tamil people.

Resolution on Sri Lanka tabled at UN Human Rights Council; 'credible justice process' with 'Commonwealth and other foreign judges' agreed on

UPDATED: 1845 GMT A resolution calling for a "credible justice process" with " Commonwealth and other foreign judges" in order to prosecute for mass atrocities committed during the final stages of the island's armed conflict has been tabled at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. See the full text of the resolution here . It calls for a "credible justice process" with "independent judicial and prosecutorial institutions led by individuals known for integrity and impartiality" and "Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers, and authorized prosecutors and investigators" . It also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to "present an oral update" to the Council at the 32nd session in June 2016 and present a "comprehensive report followed by discussion on the implementation of the present resolution at its 34th session" in March 2017. The OHCHR will also continue to assess progress on implementation of the recommendations listed in the OISL report.

Nagarkovil school bombing remembered 20 years on

A memorial was opened in remembrance of the children killed when their school was bombed by Sri Lanka’s air force in 1995. Around 71 Tamil civilians were killed in bombing raids in the Nagarkovil area 20 years ago today, with 26 children killed at the site of the new memorial, which was opened in their former school, Nagarkovil Central School.

Accountability requires more than a domestic mechanism – UN Human Rights Chief

The OHCHR investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) indicates a pattern of violations that suggest that crimes against humanity and war crimes were likely committed, said the United Nations Human Rights Chief upon releasing the report on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Zeid Hussein said, “The report draws us closer to the conclusion that crime against humanity and war crim shave apparently been committed by state actors, the LTTE and paramilitary groups.” Highlighting a “deep mistrust” between victims and the state, and “repeated failures by the state in providing justice,” the Human Rights Chief said that a significant recommendation from the report was the set up of a hybrid court to ensure there is no impunity for crimes of “such grave nature.” Mr Zeid added, “a purely domestic procedure will not succeed in overcoming decades of broken promises… it is a reality that Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system is not ready to handle these types of crimes.” Please find a link to the full report here . Conclusions of the OISL report: "The OHCHR investigation contained in this report was born out of the past failure of the Government of Sri Lanka to address accountability for the most serious human rights violations and crimes. Ending the impunity enjoyed by the security forces and associated paramilitary groups, as well as holding to account surviving members of the LTTE, will require political will and concerted efforts to ensure the non-recurrence of these violations and crimes.

Sri Lanka cannot domestically deal with 'grave crimes' found in OISL report says UN Rights Chief

Updates with further reactions 09.45 BST 18 Sep 2015 The OHCHR investigation into Sri Lanka (OISL) indicates a pattern of violations that suggest that crimes against humanity and war crimes were likely committed, said the United Nations Human Rights Chief upon releasing the report on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Zeid Hussein said, “The report draws us closer to the conclusion... that crime against humanity and war crimes.... have apparently been committed by state actors,... the LTTE and paramilitary groups.” Highlighting a “deep mistrust” between victims and the state, and “repeated failures by the state in providing justice,” the Human Rights Chief said that a significant recommendation from the report was the set up of a hybrid court to ensure there is no impunity for crimes of “such grave nature.” Mr Hussein added, “a purely domestic procedure will not succeed in overcoming decades of broken promises… it is an inescapable reality that Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system is not ready to handle these types of crimes.” He further called on Sri Lanka to show it's commitment to non-recurrence by ratifying the Rome Statute. Please find a link to the full report here . See summary report here .

Campaign for international accountability process reaches 150,000 signatories across North-East of Sri Lanka

Photographs: Tamil Guardian A signature campaign calling for an international process of justice and accountability for the mass killing of Tamil civilians during the final stages of the armed phase of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict continued at Jaffna University.

Pages