Whilst the challenges of the previous year pertaining to resource constraints persisted, those pertaining to context were exacerbated by the government’s reaction to the passage of the first US led resolution on Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council in the first quarter of the year, calling for the speedy implementation of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which were made public with the Final Report of the commission in December 2011. Additional factors were the commencement of the impeachment process against the Chief Justice in the final quarter of 2012 along with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Sri Lanka in the Human Rights Council. CPA was closely involved in raising awareness of the LLRC recommendations, advocacy in respect of the resolution and against the impeachment of the Chief Justice, as well as in the preparation and coordination of civil society submissions to the UPR. Another factor compounding context was the increasing tide of religious intolerance and attacks on Christian and Muslim places of worship as well as Muslim retail outlets. Groundviews launched a successful online petition against the attack on the Dambulla mosque, which was communicated to the Office of the President.
Read the full report as a PDF here, or download it from here.