UN Human Rights Council

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Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa addresses the nation as Airforce Chief Sumangala Dias, Army Chief Shavendra Silva, Navy Chief Piyal De Silva look on during the Sri Lanka's 72nd Independence Day celebrations in Colombo on February 4, 2020.

US Can Restore Leadership on Human Rights by Promoting Accountability in Sri Lanka

The Biden administration should press the UN Human Rights Council for action and impose its own measures, including further sanctions.
Journalists and well-wishers light candles on the grave of slain anti-establishment editor Lasantha Wickrematunge on his 12th death anniversary, in Colombo on January 8, 2021.

Escalating Attacks on Journalists in Sri Lanka Demand New Tack from Human Rights Council

The continuing impunity in the wartime killing of a revered editor and the recent escalation of rights abuses expose the government's recalcitrance.
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay speaks to reporters at a Sri Lankan hotel in Colombo on August 25, 2013.

Former UN High Commissioner Pillay Says It’s Time for the Human Rights Council to Act on Sri Lanka

She notes the Sri Lankan government has made clear that it has no intention of pursuing accountability for atrocities committed during the civil war.
Patmanathan Kokilavani holds a photo of her two children at a protest site for loved ones of the disappeared on May 13, 2019 in Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka. Patmanathan Kokilavani is missing her two children, Patmanthan Piratheepan and Patmanathan Tharsika. They were separated in a chaos of a bombing May 17 2009. Photographs of others who have been disappeared cover the wall behind her.

A Catalogue of Suffering Behind the Calls for Action on Sri Lanka’s War Crimes

Mapping a quarter century of war shows the patterns of violations that demand meaningful and credible truth and accountability processes.
Government supporters hold cutouts of portraits of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa during a march outside the U.N. office in Colombo on March 15, 2012.

The Human Rights Council Must Establish an Accountability Mechanism for Sri Lanka’s Victims

The record is abundantly clear that the country’s domestic mechanisms lack effectiveness and credibility. This is a gap that the UN uniquely can fill.
General view taken at the opening of an urgent debate on "systemic racism" in the United States and beyond at the Human Rights Council on June 17, 2020 in Geneva. People sit socially distanced among the benches.

UN Human Rights Council: A Near-Term Approach for U.S. Re-Entry

The council is much more than its flaws. A strategic US re-engagement could include membership, China, a critical review, and a programmatic agenda.
Supporters of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa attempt to push through barricades during a protest against the UN Human Rights Council's annual session, in Colombo on February 27, 2012.

US Re-Engagement in UN Human Rights Council Brings Influence, Leverage, Amb. Donahoe Says

On Sri Lanka and other issues, the Biden administration's decision sends the message that the protection of human rights is a deeply rooted priority.
Sri Lankan journalist C.A Chandraprema gives a copy of 'Gota's War' to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse as defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa looks on during the launch of the book 'Gota's War' in Colombo on May 14, 2012.

Sri Lanka’s UN Efforts to Stave Off Justice for War Crimes

The Rajapaksa government has gone so far as to install someone allegedly associated with a death squad on the Human Rights Council.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on her nomination to be the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 27, 2021.

Biden’s UN Nominee Thomas-Greenfield Awaits Vote After Questioning on China, Iran, Israel and More

As President Joe Biden prepares for his first major foreign policy speech in office this week, his nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, awaits…
Relatives and friends hold photos of their missing loved ones at Galle Face promenade in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on August 28, 2018.

Spotlight on Sri Lanka as UN Human Rights Council Prepares Next Session

Concerns over impunity and a troubling decline in human rights will be prominent, with a long-awaited report by the UN high commissioner for human rights.
U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden speaks during the White House Summit on the United State of Women June 14, 2016 in Washington, DC.

Reviving the US Commitment to Women’s Rights and Gender Equality: The UN Commission on the Status of Women

The Biden administration should use the March gathering to highlight policies or programs to advance gender equality at home and abroad.
A projection on the Louvre Museum in Paris by Amnesty International members depicting jailed Saudi human rights activists including Loujain Al-Athloul and reading "Mr Macron, demand their release", ahead of the upcoming virtual G20 summit. November 19, 2020

Defending Women’s Rights Is Not Terrorism: A Saudi Prosecution on Human Rights Day

UN entities that support and enable counterterrorism, including in cooperation with the Kingdom, must ensure such abuses end.
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