The US State Department released its 2018 report on the human rights this month, raising ongoing concerns in Sri Lanka of impunity, arbitrary detention, unlawful killings, torture, sexual abuse and media intimidation. 

Sri Lanka has made "virtually no progress" on the investigation of war crimes, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in its report on Sri Lanka's efforts towards implementing resolution 30/1, which called for accountability and transitional justice through a hybrid mechanism. 

The report also raised concerns over the on-going reports of abduction, torture and sexual violence, institutional failures within the criminal justice system, ongoing harassment of human rights defenders since 2015 and the military’s continued occupation of civilian land.

Displaced families from Keppapulavu marked the start of their third year of continuous protest on Friday, campaigning for their homes to released from military occupation. 

The judge at Westminster Magistrates Court today concluded the Sri Lankan Brigadier, accused of making a death threat to Tamil protesters in London last year, was not covered by diplomatic immunity whilst making the gesture. 

Families of the disappeared from across the North-East held a mass rally in Kilinochchi today rejecting the prospect of Sri Lanka being given more time to deliver on its co-sponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution. 

Speakers from all three major parties in the UK called for the full implementation of a UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability in Sri Lanka, during a debate in the House of Lords last week.

^{Shavendra Silva and heavily armed troops pictured interrogating female LTTE cadres who surrendered to the Sri Lankan army.}

There is “more than enough evidence” to suspend Sri Lanka’s new Chief of Army Staff, Major General Shavendra Silva, and charge him with war crimes and crimes against humanity, said the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) on Tuesday, as they released a 137-page dossier detailing his role as a military leader during an offensive that killed tens of thousands of Tamils.

“There is a staggering amount of evidence in this dossier meticulously collected by my team over many years,” said ITJP’s Executive Director, Yasmin Sooka.

“Many successful cases at international tribunals or the International Criminal Court had less to work with. There is now no excuse for this man to remain as number two in the Sri Lankan Army; he must be suspended immediately and a criminal investigation instituted.”

^{Buddhist monks harass Tamil politicians and journalists}

A large Buddha statue being illegally constructed in the land of a Tamil Hindu temple in Mullaitivu was hurriedly declared open by Sinhala Buddhist monks on Wednesday, with the aid of Sri Lankan police and the archaeology department.

While a a Right to Information (RTI) request to Karaithuraipattu (Maritimepattu) divisional council confirmed that the monks had no permission or land rights to build the statue, the Mullaitivu magistrates court was due to hear about the illegal constructions on Thursday (Jan 24), leading locals to accuse the monks of rushing through the statue opening before a potential injunction served by the court.

The Westminster Magistrate’s Court has issued an arrest warrant for Brigadier Priyanka Fernando of the Sri Lankan army earlier today, having found him guilty of committing public order offences whilst stationed in London.

Fernando was found guilty of violating sections 5 and 4A of the Public Order Act, with the court stating that his actions were threatening, caused harassment, and that he intended them to be so.

^{British Tamils at the Houses of Parliament this week, celebrating Thai Pongal}

Thai Pongal celebrations took place across Britain this week, with parliamentarians and other politicians from across the political spectrum praising the contribution of the British Tamil community and pledging to continue work towards justice in the Tamil homeland.