The Sri Lanka Monitoring and Accountability Panel (MAP) has called for an independent evidence-gathering mechanism for to be set up by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to collect evidence of international law violations.

In a statement issued earlier this week the MAP, which consists of a panel of prominent legal experts to monitor transitional justice mechanisms in Sri Lanka, said that “looking ahead to the HRC’s 40th Session in March 2019—when the question of Sri Lanka’s compliance is back on the agenda—a fresh approach is needed”.

The Sri Lanka Campaign has re-launched its ethical tourism campaign for those who visit Sri Lanka and the Tamil homeland, reflecting ongoing concerns regarding militarisation and in an effort to prevent human rights abusers from benefitting from tourism to the island.

Residents of Pandatharippu, Jaffna protested in solidarity with Tamil political prisoners who are hunger striking for their release.

As many as 750,000 cases remain pending in courts across the island, declared Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Thalatha Atukorale.

She noted that the massive backlog has left many losing faith in Sri Lanka’s judicial system.

“Just as much as we care about the legal profession, we need to take some action to prevent such a large number of cases pending in courts,” she said. “We cannot be happy about getting cases postponed. People undergo numerous problems due to cases getting postponed.”

Investigators from the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption Unit have met with Sri Lanka’s prime minister and president as they carry out investigations into corruption allegations on the island.

"We are currently in Sri Lanka as part of our ongoing investigations into serious allegations of corruption in cricket in the country," said Alex Marshall from the ICC.

The British Tamil Conservatives (BTC) hosted their annual reception at the Conservative Party Conference on this weekend, where ministers and parliamentarians came and pledged to work towards justice in Sri Lanka.

Forty political prisoners at Colombo’s Magazine prison have begun a hunger strike, Daily Mirror reports.

The 40 detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act began striking on Wednesday, calling for their cases to be expedited, according to the prisons spokesperson.

Ten Tamil political prisoners at Anuradhapura prison have been hunger striking for over two weeks and refusing medical treatment since last week, demanding their release.

Sri Lanka’s pace of progress on a number of key issues, including accountability, remains slower than the UK had hoped for, a British minister has said.

Writing in Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror, FCO minister for Asia, Mark Field, said:

The Sri Lankan navy is accused of breaking the nets of Indian fishermen who they accused of entering Sri Lankan waters, and chased away a group of approximately 1,000 fishermen on Monday morning.

The PTI reports that the fishermen, who had ventured into sea in 200 boats, were from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. The Sri Lankan troops had cut the nets of at least ten boats according to Rameswaram Fishermen Association President S Emerit.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickeremsinghe is set to address the Oxford Union next week, as part of a visit to the United Kingdom.

Wickremesinghe will reportedly be “discussing the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean region”.