Ahead of the 48 UN Human Rights Council Session, Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa has left the island for an official visit to Italy where he will meet with Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli and the President of Slovenia Borut Pahor.
Environmental activists condemned the failure of the Sri Lankan government and its agencies in addressing “the environmental damage and damage to livelihood of fishermen” caused by the X-Press Pearl disaster in May.
The Sri Lankan Media Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella backtracked his decision to carry out an investigation into sexual harrasment operating in media institutions.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) alongside Centre for Justice and Accountability (CJA) has issued a report calling calls on the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold Sri Lanka accountable for crimes committed against journalists.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa sent a letter to ‘close friend’, Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to China, Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona, gave the Director General of the Department of Protocol Hong Lei at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China a special gift and personal message from Rajapaksa.
The Sri Lankan government has denied its involvement in the destruction of the memorial at Jaffna University honouring the tens of thousands of lives lost in the Mullivaikkal massacre in 2009.
<p>Muslim coronavirus victims are being forcibly cremated by the Sri Lankan government, reports the Economist on January 2, following new rules issued by the health ministry making cremations compulsory, upsetting Muslims who blame Islamophobia. </p>
During the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, Dayani Mendis, requested the UNHRC recognise the achievements Sri Lanka has made towards reconciliation, development and the promotion and protection of human rights within the span of four years.
<p>The travel ban imposed on Lieutenant Commander G.Laksiri, a key witness in the case of the abduction and murder of 11 youth between 2008 and 2009, was temporarily lifted on July 17. The order was issued by Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanyake. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the case filed against Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, was also postponed until October 9.</p>
<p>UN Special Rapporteur Clément Nyalestsossi Voule is visiting Sri Lanka from 18 to 26 July 2019 to assess rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in the country.</p>
<p>Voule will assess issues related to the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, including their intersection with the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.</p>
<p>Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka’s prime minster said he will do his utmost to find a permanent solution to the national question in the next two years.</p>
<p>“I would like to say that we have reached a political settlement. The issue will be resolved in the next two years. It will create an environment in which Sri Lankans can live with pride. I like the fact that we are Sri Lankans irrespective of our nationality. Everyone here should think that way,” he said.</p>
<p>President Maithripala Sirisena has claimed that international drug syndicates orchestrated Sri Lanka’s deadly Easter Sunday bombings, although previously blaming the attacks on Islamist terrorists.</p>
<p>In a statement released on Monday, Sirisena said the attacks “were the work of international drug dealers.”</p>
<p>“Drug barons carried out this attack to discredit me and discourage my anti-narcotics drive. I will not be deterred,” he said.</p>
<p>Kurunegala Magistrate's Court remanded a Muslim doctor who was falsely charged of sterilising Sinhala women after protests by Buddhist monks and lawyers. </p>
<p>Buddhist monks and lawyers claimed that releasing the doctor, Mohamed Shafi, could lead to violence in Kurunegala.</p>
<p>Despite the State saying it had no objections to bail, the court ordered that Shafi be remanded for another two weeks. </p>
Senior Attorney K Ratnavel
Environmental activists condemned the failure of the Sri Lankan government and its agencies in addressing “the environmental damage and damage to livelihood of fishermen” caused by the X-Press Pearl disaster in May. 
