March 18 2021, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is concerned by news reports of public statements made by the Minister for Public Security, Sarath Weerasekera MP, to the effect that the government intends taking measures to ban the wearing of the burqa, and to ban madrasas that do not conform to […]
Message from the Executive Director The year was marked by two key events – one, the terrible tragedy of the Easter Sunday carnage and the other, the convincing victory of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the Presidential Election at the end of the year. National security and strong and decisive leadership dominated the agenda […]
20th January 2021, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The repudiation of Sri Lanka’s commitments to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka by the present government as well as policies and actions intended to reverse even the limited progress made, raise serious concerns about the possibility of obtaining justice for victims of human rights violations. […]
December 9th 2020, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), made the following submission which outlines CPA’s general views on the nature and form of a new constitutional settlement for Sri Lanka. The submission addresses some of the major constitutional issues that have been the basis of public debate for many years. Click here […]
In this series of papers, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) looks at legal and policy reform needed to address Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). CPA identifies several areas in which the statute books need to be updated in order to ensure that the safety and dignity of women are protected, but also it is […]
Sri Lanka has accumulated a terrible legacy of human rights violations with successive governments making numerous promises in the area of transitional justice. Years on, however, the legitimate demands of victims for truth and justice have not gone away. The publication ‘Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka: Moving Beyond Promises’ edited by Bhavani Fonseka includes several […]
The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is the Chief Law Officer of the State and is considered to be the Head of the legal profession. The Attorney General is accorded a unique constitutional position with regards to his duties, privileges and responsibilities, which are defined by both constitutional and statutory provisions, as well as, through […]