Tamils for Obama, February 06, 2013 - Tamils for Obama praised the International Crisis Group (ICG) for their work in directing international attention to goings on in Sri Lanka even after the civil war ended in 2009. Tamils for Obama said to ICG's president Louise Arbour that they favor a referendum plumbing the desires of the population of the north and east of Sri Lanka, and that they expect that ICG will come around to this thinking also.

International Crisis Group, 17 January 2013 - In light of Sri Lanka’s clear and repeated violation of Commonwealth principles, and following his recent welcome expressions of concern about the impeachment, the Commonwealth Secretary-General should refer Sri Lanka to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG). Already the Canadian government has called on CMAG to put Sri Lanka on its agenda – other Commonwealth governments should endorse this position and insist that CMAG acts. Unless the impeachment is reversed, the Commonwealth should shift the location of its next heads of government meeting, currently scheduled to take place in Colombo in November 2013.

The HRC should note the failure by the government to implement last year’s recommendations and call for an independent investigation into all credible allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, whose broad outlines were laid out in the April 2011 report of the UN Secretary-General’s panel of experts looking at the civil conflict’s conclusion.

All of Sri Lanka’s international partners – both bilateral and multilateral – need to determine measures to be taken in response to the Rajapaksa government’s clear contempt for constitutional values and the rule of law.

All those providing bi-lateral and multilateral development assistance – especially the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund – should review their programs in light of the political attacks by the Rajapaksa government on the rule of law and its continued failure to address accountability issues stemming from the killing of thousands of non-combatants in 2009.

International Crisis Group, Colombo/Brussels | 20 Nov 2012 - The Sri Lankan government’s refusal to negotiate seriously with Tamil political leaders or consider reasonable forms of power sharing is heightening ethnic tensions and damaging prospects for sustainable peace. Sri Lanka: Tamil Politics and the Quest for a Political Solution, the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines political opportunities and challenges in finding a realistic strategy for the Tamil community to claim its rights against a government that remains opposed to power sharing. The administration of President Rajapaksa has failed to honour agreements with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), broke promises to world leaders and refused to implement constitutional provisions for minimal devolution of power to Tamil-speaking areas of the north and east. Instead, the government is pursuing a policy of militarisation and biased economic development in Tamil and Muslim areas.

International Crisis Group, 31 May 2012: Mark Schneider, Senior Vice President and Special Advisor on Latin America, discusses the recent visit to Washington of G. L. Peiris, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, and the pressing questions that the minister left unanswered. 9:59.

International Crisis Group, - 02 June 2012 - Three years after Sri Lanka's bloody civil war, the island is still far from genuine reconciliation. Beginning with the last months of the civil war, this timeline traces the Sri Lankan government's deepening authoritarianism, failure to protect minority rights and denial of mounting evidence that war crimes were committed during the war.

by Linda Mottram, 702 ABC Sydney, 20/03/2012 - If Bob Carr is looking for a policy priority in his new job as Foreign Minister, the International Crisis Group says he should look at the atrocities allegedly committed by Sri Lanka against Tamil civilians at the end of the long and bloody civil war in the country in 2009. International Crisis Group senior analyst and Sri Lanka project director Alan Keenan told 702 Mornings from London that there was "very much" a war crimes case for Sri Lanka's government to answer, though Colombo has vigorously and repeated rejected such claims. He also said the bulk of the footage used by Channel Four was "reliable".

International Crisis Group, Colombo/Brussels, 16 Mar 2012 - The Sri Lankan military’s control over the political and economic life of the Northern Province is deepening the alienation and anger of northern Tamils and threatening sustainable peace. Sri Lanka’s North I: The Denial of Minority Rights and Sri Lanka’s North II: Rebuilding under the Military, the two latest reports from the International Crisis Group, examine how de facto military rule and various forms of government-sponsored “Sinhalisation” of the Tamil-majority region are impeding international humanitarian efforts, reigniting a sense of grievance among Tamils, and weakening chances for a real political settlement to devolve power.

ICG, Brussels, 1 March 2012 - Sri Lanka’s post-war course is threatening future violence. As its 19th session in Geneva begins this week, the UN Human Rights Council has a chance to do something about it. Nearly three years since declaring victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the government has weakened democratic institutions, deepened ethnic polarisation and aggravated the country’s long-standing impunity for human rights violations. The former warzones in the north and east are heavily militarised and controlled from Colombo, while disappearances, killings, torture, gender-based violence and other abuses continue with impunity throughout the island. Sri Lankans who speak out about the situation risk reprisal. There has been no progress on accountability for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

International Crisis Group, 27 February 2012 - Nearly three years since the end of the war, there’s a growing need for an accounting of – and for – those killed and missing in the final months of fighting in northern Sri Lanka in 2009. Members of the UN Human Rights Council, opening its 19th session in Geneva today, should be ready to press the Sri Lankan government for real answers.

International Crisis Group, 20 Dec 2011 - Women in Sri Lanka’s predominantly Tamil-speaking north and east are facing a desperate lack of security in the aftermath of the long civil war. Today many still live in fear of violence from various sources. Those who fall victim to it have little means of redress. Women’s economic security is precarious, and their physical mobility is limited. The heavily militarised and centralised control of the north and east – with almost exclusively male, Sinhalese security forces – raises particular problems for women there in terms of their safety, sense of security and ability to access assistance. They have little control over their lives and no reliable institutions to turn to. The government has mostly dismissed women’s security issues and exacerbated fears, especially in the north and east. The international community has failed to appreciate and respond effectively to the challenges faced by women and girls in the former war zone. A concerted and immediate effort to empower and protect them is needed.