Marking International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the UN has released a statement maintaining the need for “a fully independent and effective” Office of Missing Persons.

Responding to the skyrocketing food prices, Sri Lankan Trade Minister, Bandula Gunawardena, is set to propose a rationing system for sugar and essential items sold via Lanka Sathosa outlets, the largest retail chain in the country.

Over 70 individuals and organisations, including prominent religious leaders and human rights advocates in Sri Lanka, have demanded the immediate release of Hejaaz Hizbullah who has been detained under the country’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act for over 500 days.

Responding to the announcement of welfare benefits for Eelam Tamil refugees by Tamil Nadu’s chief minister M.K. Stalin, Sri Lankan minister Namal Rajapaksa claimed that the Rajapaksa administration welcomed back Tamil refugees whilst omitting ongoing accounts of torture.

Those who have returned and who require assistance have been provided with houses & livelihoods. Pres @GotabayaR & PM @PresRajapaksa will ensure all refugees who return back are safe in their homeland & can restart their lives. 2/2

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin unveiled a host of welfare benefits for Eelam Tamil refugees in a speech delivered to the legislative assembly on Friday. The measures range from establishing new settlements and upgrading existing dwellings to scholarships for students of Eelam Tamil origin. 

In advance of International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a statement slamming the Sri Lankan government for denying preventing the “families of the disappeared from learning the truth about their loved ones” and for protecting the perpetrators from accountability.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have called on Sri Lankan police to stop harassing Batticaloa journalist Punniyamoorthy Sasikaran and "let him work without interference." 

Sasikaran, a Tamil journalist and treasurer of the Batticaloa District Tamil Journalists Association Union, was interrogated by Sri Lanka's Special Crime Prevention Unit earlier this week. 

Australia’s High Commissioner to Colombo, David Holly, met with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister G.L. Peris on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations despite concerns over Sri Lanka’s dire human rights record.

On Twitter, the High Commissioner stated:

In a joint letter addressed to the Sri Lankan Inspector General of Police, Chandana Wickramaratne, six media organisations express concern over the continued arrest and intimidation of journalists on the island.

 The letter addressed the arrest of journalist Keerthi Ratnayake, who allegedly provided information to the Indian embassy. The Media Organization Collective highlighted Ratnayake's life "could be in danger" and requested he "be investigated under the prescribed legal provisions and that his life be protected against all harm." 

Mangala Samaraweera, a formidable figure in Sri Lankan politics who previously held several ministerial posts, passed away from COVID-19 at a private hospital in Colombo this week. News of his death was met with international tributes from senior political figures worldwide, including the United States, UK, Europe and India. Many of those messages mourned the loss of a man that came to espouse the type of liberal Sri Lankan politics that reverberated with those powers. His passing will therefore be a particular blow to longstanding Western efforts that seek active partners amongst the Sinhala Buddhist polity for the liberal order project.