Following a damning report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, Human Rights Watch has endorsed the recommendations of the High Commissioner for targeted sanctions on Sri Lankan officials credibly accused of war crimes and for the establishment of an independent international mechanism to investigate violations of international law.

Former LTTE cadres are among 15 individuals remanded for allegedly transporting and selling weapons to 'underworld gangs' in Colombo.

According to newsfirst.lk, the weapons and ammunition uncovered in the North-East reportedly include Claymore Mines, Live Hand Grenades, and T-56 Assault Rifles.

The US state department, US Ambassador and a US Senator have urged Sri Lanka to halt its “mandatory policy of cremating deceased COVID-19 victims”, and to respect “the traditions of its diverse communities”, as cases of forced cremations of deceased Muslims persist in Sri Lanka.

The 104th birth anniversary of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Kollywood superstar M.G. Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, was celebrated in Jaffna on January 17 in front of his memorial statue in the city.

^{Demonstration by Tamil families last year,}

The Sri Lankan government lambasted a report from the United Nations human rights chief last week, as it sent a response which defended accused war criminals, denied reports of rights abuses and slammed accusations of ongoing discrimination.  

Responding to the latest report on Sri Lanka by the UN High Commissioner, Human Rights Watch has raised concern over the “disturbing development under the Rajapaksa administration” and spoke out against the country’s “egregious record of complete impunity for appalling crimes”.

Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary claimed that the Core Group at the UN Human Rights Council “has indicated to us that they would like to have a consensual resolution that would give us another year to implement Human Rights commitments,” despite overwhelming calls for an international accountability mechanism to be mandated.

Sri Lanka’s war crimes accused defence secretary has denied all reports of war crimes committed by the armed forces during a 2009 offensive in which he played a leading role, as he revealed he “was in this whole scenario right from the start”.

In a joint statement UN Special Rapporteurs Ahmed Shaheed, Fernand de Varennes, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule and Tlaleng Mofokeng, have condemned Sri Lanka’s practice of forced cremations warning that it “ran the risk of increasing prejudice, intolerance and violence”.

Responding to the latest UN human rights report on Sri Lanka, Amnesty International has demanded the Core Group (consisting of Canada, Germany, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the UK) present a “meaningful proposal” that ensures accountability for Sri Lankan war crimes.

Responding to the UN human rights chief's report on Sri Lanka, representatives from the US, Canada, UK and Germany have renewed their commitment to human rights and accountability on the island, with calls for accountability and sanctions. on officials implicated in war crimes.