Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's promise to free displaced must be followed by concrete action - 24 November 2009

At least 130,000 people displaced by the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam, have been held in camps under military control and deprived of their freedom of movement.

Sri Lanka: Promise to free displaced must be followed by concrete action - 23 November 2009

Amnesty International welcomes the government of Sri Lanka’s promise to lift by 1 December any restrictions on movement of at least 130,000 people displaced by the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam.

Amnesty International takes action for Sri Lanka displaced - 16 November 2009

Activists and supporters of Amnesty International will launch a week of action on Monday highlighting the continued detention of thousands of displaced civilians in government camps in Sri Lanka.

EU and India must work together at UN to protect human rights - 5 November 2009

The European Union and India should work together at the United Nations to protect human rights in places of crisis, Amnesty International has said in a letter ahead of the EU India summit in New Delhi.

Sri Lanka must investigate death threats against two more journalists - 28 October 2009

Two female editors at national newspaper the Sunday Leader have received death threats. The paper's founder and former Editor-in-Chief was murdered in January.

Displaced Sri Lankans trapped between the military and the impending monsoon - 8 October 2009

A quarter of a million Sri Lankans now being held in de facto detention camps are facing a humanitarian disaster as monsoon rains threaten to flood camps.

Sri Lanka: Displaced now trapped between the military and the impending monsoon - 8 October 2009

A quarter of a million Sri Lankans now being held in de facto detention camps are facing a humanitarian disaster as monsoon rains threaten to flood camps, said Amnesty International today.

Months after the government of Sri Lanka set up camps in Vavuniya District in the north-east of the country following the end of the conflict there, the authorities are still failing to deliver basic services.

Camps remain overcrowded and lack basic sanitation facilities and heavy rains in September saw rivers of water cascading through tents with camp residents wading through overflowing sewage.

“People living in these camps are desperate to leave. The government must ensure that the displaced are treated with dignity. They have a right to protection and must be consulted on whether they wish to return to their homes or resettle," said Yolanda Foster, Amnesty International’s Sri Lanka expert, who is in contact with relatives of people inside the camp.

Sri Lankan army clashes with detainees - 24 September 2009

A detainee was seriously injured and had to be hospitalized as a clash broke out between the Sri Lankan Army and detainees being held at a school in Vavuniya in north-eastern Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Counting the human cost of Sri Lanka's conflict - 11 September 2009

The Government of Sri Lanka announced a plan on 23 May to resettle most civilians displaced by conflict by the end of the year.