Sri Lanka

Our Take

Our Take
Land Privatization: Why Sri Lanka Must Reject the MCC Compact
A recent report by the Oakland Institute examines the MCC compact with Sri Lanka and raises alarm over the irreversible consequences of embarking on land privatization – when most of the land is public in the country.
Our Take
Remembrance and Resilience: The Ongoing Plight of Sri Lanka's Survivors
May 18th is the Mullivaikkal Day for Tamils in Sri Lanka – a day of mourning and remembrance for the more than 40,000 civilians brutally killed in the final stages of the country’s civil war nine years ago.
Our Take
Justice Denied: Government and International Community Fail to Bring Justice to Sri Lanka
For the past two months, protests have erupted across Sri Lanka’s North and East. Communities have launched rolling hunger strikes, insisting that their land be returned. Relatives of the missing have held sit-ins, demanding answers about their loved ones fates and whereabouts. And in numerous cities and towns people have marched, calling for the creation of a court with international judges to prosecute war crimes committed during the civil war.
Our Take
This Human Rights Day, Stand Up for Human Rights in Sri Lanka
December 10, 2016. This International Human Rights Day – themed “Stand up for someone’s rights” – there’s a lot to stand up for. In the weeks since Trump won the US Presidential election, hate crimes against Muslims, people of color, and immigrants have spiked; white nationalists have been appointed to top positions in the White House; and many of Trump’s election pledges – from deporting undocumented persons, to enacting a ban on the entry to Muslims into America – have millions fearing for their basic rights and freedoms. Credit: Donald Trump photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Press Releases & Public Statements

People protesting in front of an Army camp in Keppapulavu in the Mullaithivu District demanding the release of their lands.
Public Statement
Ahead of UN Human Rights Chief’s Visit to Sri Lanka, the Oakland Institute Calls for Action on Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Violations and Landgrabs
As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk prepares to visit Sri Lanka from June 23-26, 2025, the Oakland Institute calls on the United Nations to address Sri Lanka government’s past and ongoing land grabs and human rights violations targeting Tamils in the country. Sixteen years since the end of the civil war, the Tamil population – marginalized and persecuted since the country’s independence in 1948 – still awaits justice.
Report thumbnail
Press Release
Escalating Land Grabs Threaten Tamils & Muslims in Sri Lanka
As the 57th session of the UNHRC addresses the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, a new report from the Oakland Institute, Trincomalee Under Siege: Land Grabs Target the Tamil Homeland in Sri Lanka uncovers the rapidly escalating colonization of Tamil and Muslim lands in Trincomalee District. While Sinhalese colonization and settlements have taken place in Sri Lanka under the guise of development since independence, this new research exposes an intensification since the end of the civil war in 2009 and details the different methods deployed by successive governments and the military to further disempower Tamil and Muslim communities.
Arisikantha Purana Rajamara Vihara in Pulmoddai
Press Release
இலங்கையில் தமிழ் மற்றும் முஸ்லிம் மக்களை அச்சுறுத்தும் தீவிரமடையும் நில அபகரிப்பு
ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் மனித உரிமைகள் சபை இலங்கையின் மனித உரிமைகள் நிலைமை தொடர்பில் ஆராய்ந்துவரும் இந்த வேளையில், கொடூரமான உள்நாட்டு யுத்தம் முடிவடைந்து 15 வருடங்கள் ஆகியுள்ள நிலையில், நாட்டின் கேந்திர முக்கியத்துவம்மிக்க திருகோணமலை மாவட்டத்தில் எவ்வாறு தமிழ் மற்றும் முஸ்லிம் மக்களின் நிலங்கள் ஆக்கிரமிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன என்பதை புதிய ஒரு ஆய்வு அறிக்கை விபரிக்கின்றது., ஓக்லாண்ட், கலிபோர்னியா- ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் மனித உரிமைகள் சபையின் 57 ஆவது கூட்டத்தொடரில் இலங்கையின் மனித உரிமைகள் நிலைமை தொடர்பில் விவாதிக்கப்பட்டுவரும் இந்த வேளையில், " திருகோணமலை ஆக்கிரமிப்பின் கீழ் : இலங்கையின் தமிழர் தாயகத்தை இலக்குவைக்கும் நிலஅபகரிப்பு" என்ற ஓக்லாண்ட் நிலையத்தின் புதிய ஆய்வு அறிக்கையானது திருகோணமலையில் தமிழ் மற்றும் முஸ்லிம் மக்களின் நிலங்கள் மோசமாக அபகரிக்கப்பட்டுவருவது பற்றிய அதிர்ச்சியளிக்கும் தகவல்களை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.
Arisikantha Purana Rajamara Vihara in Pulmoddai
Press Release
ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දෙමළ සහ මුස්ලිම් ජනතාවට තර්ජනයක් වන ඉඩම් අත්පත් කර ගැනීම් උත්සන්න වීම
එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සිලයේ (UNHRC) 57 වැනි සැසිවාරය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මානව හිමිකම් තත්වය ගැන කතා කරන විට, සිවිල් යුද්ධය කුරිරු ලෙස අවසන් වී වසර 15 කට පසු රටේ උපාය මාර්ගික ප්‍රදේශයක් වන ත්‍රිකුණාමලය දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ දෙමළ සහ මුස්ලිම් ඉඩම්වල ජනපදකරණය වේගවත් වී ඇති ආකාරය පිළිබඳ නව වාර්තාවක් විස්තර කරයි.ත්‍රිකුණාමලය දිස්ත්‍රික්කය තුළ ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් දෙමළ හා මුස්ලිම් ජනගහනයක් වෙසෙන ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් (DS) කොට්ඨාශ හයේ දැඩි ඉඩම් මංකොල්ලකෑමේ ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස, දැන් දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ ජනගහනයෙන් සියයට 27 ක් සිංහලයන් වන අතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ මුළු භූමි ප්‍රමාණයෙන් සියයට 36 ක් අත්පත් කරගෙන සිටිති, ඕක්ලන්ඩ්, CA - එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සිලයේ 57 වැනි සැසිවාරය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ මානව හිමිකම් තත්ත්වය විවාදය කරන අතරතුර, ඕක්ලන්ඩ් ආයතනයේ නව වාර්තාවක් නිකුත් කර ඇත. “ත්‍රිකුණාමලය වටලයි -ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දෙමළ නිජබිම ඉලක්ක කරගනිමින් ඉඩම් අත්පත් කර ගැනීම්” වේගයෙන් වර්ධනය වන දෙමළ සහ මුස්ලිම් ජනපදකරණය අනාවරණය කරයි.

Audio & Video

Video thumbnail
Video
Webinar Video — A Reckoning: Holding Perpetrators Accountable in Sri Lanka
On August 9, 2022 one month after tens of thousands of citizens stormed the palace of the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is now on the run after fleeing the country, The Oakland Institute and the Politics of Sexual Violence Initiative at the City College of New York held a timely webinar focused on the struggle for justice in Sri Lanka.
Video thumbnail
Video
Sri Lanka: Statement at the 46th Regular Session of the UNHRC
“A government-led effort to geographically fragment the North and East is accompanied by a strategy to systematically erase Tamil culture and history through the establishment of Sinhalese settlements, Buddhist temples, archaeological reservations, and more.” During the 46th session of the UNHRC, the Oakland Institute in partnership with the Association Bharathi Centre Culturel Franco-Tamoul delivered a statement urging the HRC Resolution on Sri Lanka to emphasize the immediate end of land grabbing and planned settlements; ensure immediate demilitarization of the North and East; appoint a Spec
Video thumbnail
Video
New Report Exposes Sinhalisation and Colonization of North and East in Sri Lanka
As the 46th session of the UNHRC assesses the new resolution on Sri Lanka, a new report from the Oakland Institute, Endless War: The Destroyed Land, Life, and Identity of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, brings forth shocking new evidence on the extent of the continued persecution of the minority Tamil population in the North and East of the country. The report is based on fieldwork conducted in 2020 and 2021 and the Oakland Institute's continued engagement with human rights activists, journalists, politicians, and civil society representatives.
Video thumbnail
Video
We Cannot be Silenced, We Cannot Forget.
While the brutal civil war in Sri Lanka ended over a decade ago, the process of reconciliation and justice for the victims and their families remains elusive. The Sri Lankan government has continually failed to fulfill its international commitments to transitional justice.

News Articles

The New Indian Express
What does Sri Lankan President's promise to return state-occupied land mean for the Tamils?
As Sri Lankans headed to the polls on Thursday to make a crucial decision about cementing the 'new era of politics' ushered in by President Anura Kumara Dissana
Tamil Guardian
Trincomalee under siege - New report finds rapidly escalating
A new report by the Oakland Institute looking at Trincomalee, a city once dubbed the capital of Tamil Eelam, has found that over the last 12 months, there has been rapidly escalating colonization of the Tamil homeland.
Tamil Guardian
Trincomalee under siege - New report finds rapidly escalating Buddhisation of homeland
A new report by the Oakland Institute looking at Trincomalee, a city once dubbed the capital of Tamil Eelam, has found that over the last 12 months, there has been rapidly escalating colonization of the Tamil homeland.
Samakalam
குச்சவெளி பிரதேசத்தில் மட்டும் 26 விகாரைகள்; 50% க்கும் அதிகமான காணி அபகரிப்பு : ஓக்லாண்ட் நிலைய அறிக்கை
திருகோணமலை மாவட்டத்தில் அரசு மற்றும் அதன் திணைக்களங்கள் மிக மோசமான நில அபகரிப்பில் கடந்த சில வருடங்களில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளதாக நில ஆக்கிரமிப்பு தொடர்பில் பல்வேறு நாடுகளிலும் ஆய்வு நடத்திவரும் கலிஃபோர்னியாவை அடிப்படையாக கொண்ட ஓக்லாண்ட் நிலையம் அதிர்ச்சியளிக்கும் ஆய்வு அறிக்கை ஒன்றை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது.