Business

LKI – ICRC seminar discusses Contemporary Challenges Concerning AI and Autonomous Weapons Systems

Published

1 year ago

2024/12/31

Dignitaries making their presentations at the symposium.

The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI), in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hosted a panel discussion titled, ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI), Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS) and Contemporary Challenges’ at the LKI Lighthouse Auditorium on 19 December 2024. It was attended by diplomats, representatives of International Organizations, senior officials of relevant Ministries and agencies, military personnel, leading researchers and university students.

Delivering the keynote address at the event, the Additional Secretary for East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Yasoja Gunasekera, underscored the urgent need for global action to regulate Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Weapons Systems. She emphasized that while AI has become integral to numerous sectors, its growing presence on the battlefield raises profound concerns regarding its application in weapon systems. The Additional Secretary recalled that it was under the Chairmanship of Sri Lanka in 2015, that the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) agreed to elevate the discussion of LAWS from an informal expert led discussion to a State-led dialogue, leading to the establishment of the first meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) at the 2016 CCW Review Conference. She noted that in addition to actively engaging in the GGE, in October 2021 Sri Lanka together with a wide cross regional group of 70 states co-sponsored the first Joint Statement on LAWS at the UNGA, and supported the adoption of the ‘the Pact for the Future’ adopted by the UNGA in September 2024. Sri Lanka strongly supports the negotiation of a legally binding instrument to prohibit and regulate LAWS and supports the UN Secretary General and the President of the ICRC’s joint appeal to establish new rules on AWS by 2026.

Earlier welcoming the gathering, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Executive Director of the LKI, said the event was intended to salute the role played by the ICRC which commemorated the 75th anniversary of the operation of the Geneva Conventions, without which the world might have been a different place. He recalled the ICRC’s contributions to Sri Lanka since establishing a presence in 1989, particularly during the armed conflict –escorting food and civilian convoys to the North and the East, facilitating immunization drives, passing messages between the parties in conflict and enabling the return of the wounded and the dead on both sides, and post conflict assistance in mine clearance, disaster response, and in the search for missing persons. Across time the ICRC had also played an important role in training the Security Forces on IHL compliance and engaged in prison visitations and supported the improvement of prison conditions. He observed that the theme of the discussion chosen on disarmament, besides being one where the ICRC and Sri Lanka closely collaborated globally, is the focus of several ongoing research endeavours of the LKI in recent times, along with ICT and its contemporary challenges.

Delivering the opening remarks, Severine Chappaz, Head of Delegation of the ICRC in Sri Lanka focused on the continued relevance of IHL. Stressing that the main responsibility to apply IHL in good faith lies with States to mitigate human suffering, she underlined the importance of making IHL a national and international political priority. She also emphasised on aspects of IHL that are particularly relevant to Sri Lanka, including the post-conflict application of IHL, which applies specifically to the issue of missing persons, their right to be searched for, the right of their families to know the fate and whereabouts of their missing loved ones and the obligation to prevent people from going missing. She also referred to the significance of national integration of IHL where the National IHL committee of Sri Lanka plays a key role, training the armed forces in IHL, and the dissemination of IHL through academic and religious circles. In her remarks, Sri Lanka’s international engagement in the promotion and development of IHL, notably in the field of disarmament regulations, was also recognised.

Prof. Andrei Kozik, Regional Legal Advisor – ICRC, highlighted the novel humanitarian and legal challenges posed by technological developments including AI and AWS. Delving into the subject, he drew attention to the unique characteristics of AWS that heighten risks for civilians and raise challenges for IHL compliance. In his presentation, Prof. Kozik also clarified the ICRC’s position on AWS, stating that the ICRC calls for new rules that prohibit the use of ‘unpredictable’ and ‘anti-personnel’ autonomous weapons systems. It was noted that in this context, ‘unpredictability’ refers to the discriminatory nature of AWS weapons while ‘anti-personnel’ refers to autonomous weapons designed or used to target humans directly. The ICRC’s report titled ‘International Humanitarian Law and the challenges of contemporary armed conflicts’ was referenced as a source to obtain an overview of some of the challenges for IHL posed by contemporary armed conflicts. The report broadly underscores the humanitarian consequences that could result from the potential loss of human control over the use of force in armed conflict.

Ms. Yanithra Kumaraguru, Sri Lankan Coordinator for the Global Campaign ‘Stop Killer Robots,’ underscored the critical role of ethics in shaping both the legal frameworks and the development of autonomous weapons, especially in areas where current laws may not provide clear guidance. She highlighted several key ethical concerns, including the challenge of ensuring that autonomous weapons comply with international humanitarian law principles and also questioned whether machines could reliably make life-and-death decisions without human biases, stressing the risks of errors that could lead to violations of human dignity. She further discussed the ‘moral accountability gap’, an ethical concern that extends beyond legal frameworks and asked whether responsibility for actions taken by autonomous weapons lies with designers, operators, or no one at all emphasizing the dehumanizing consequences of delegating such critical decisions to machines. Stressing the fact that some advocates for autonomous weapons argue that these technologies could lead to greater precision and fewer civilian casualties, Ms. Kumaraguru countered that technological limitations, the unpredictable nature of conflict and the human realities of conflict make such claims overly idealistic.

Colonel Nalin Herath, Director, Media and Spokesman of the Ministry of Defence and Head of the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), while acknowledging the ethical challenges posed highlighted the transformative impact of AI on modern warfare emphasizing its potential for operational efficiency, noted how such weapons are reshaping combat strategies and in distinguishing civilians from military targets. He raised concern about the growing access of non-state actors to advanced technologies, which heightens unpredictability in conflicts and cautioned against the dangers posed by AI in terms of misinformation and disinformation. Stressing the absence of a global consensus on regulating AI in warfare, he called for caution and cooperation to ensure ethical use of AI and to prevent its misuse.

Prof. Ajith De Alwis, the Chief Innovation Officer of the National Innovation Agency (NIA) and Past President – Pugwash Sri Lanka, addressed the dual-use nature of science, technology, and innovation, particularly in the context of autonomous weapons systems and AI. He noted that since the Wright brothers’ revolutionary invention of flight in 1903 which within a decade was quickly adapted for bombing, historically technology had been weaponized. He pointed to the futility of questioning whether blame can be apportioned to autonomous weapons used in wars, what is more crucial is that states create the conditions to prevent wars from taking place in the first place. He emphasised the need for better prioritizing of the use of AWS, rather than banning per se, and advocated for leveraging AI and autonomous systems for humanity’s benefit rather than their weaponization. Pointing to the climate issue where time was running out and the emission trajectories being put into wrong trajectories by all the conflicts going on, he asked that researchers must be persuaded to become more socially responsible, as the scientists who walked out of the ‘Manhattan Project’ which pursued the creation of the atomic bomb. He also advocated strengthening a UN led global mechanism supporting whistle blowing and asked that we push ourselves to value humanity more – touching on the Pugwash principles.

Ambassador Aryasinha who moderated the panel discussion, reflecting on the challenges faced as Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative in Geneva in presiding over the CCW during Sri Lanka’ Presidency of the CCW in 2015/2016 which secured a consensus to commence the discussion of LAWS at the level of States Parties nearly a decade ago, regretted that movement had been slow and that many relevant States needed for effective regulation of AWS, opposed or remained ambivalent in supporting such regulation.

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Business

A nation reframed through food: Sri Lanka’s historic National Geographic debut

Published

19 hours ago

2026/02/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

By Ifham Nizam

On a bright Colombo morning, beneath the polished lines of Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka quietly redrew the contours of its global image.

This was not merely a programme launch. It was a recalibration.

For the first time, a Sri Lankan-made food and travel series will premiere across South Asia on National Geographic — a platform synonymous with global storytelling. In a region where culinary diplomacy has long been monopolised by larger neighbours, Sri Lanka has chosen its entry point carefully: flavour.

Jayaflava: Celebrating Sri Lanka is a six-part travel and food series hosted by Tasha Marikkar, airing on National Geographic South Asia. It premieres on Friday the 20th at 8.00 p.m., with a repeat on Sunday at 1.00 p.m. The series will broadcast across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives — positioning Sri Lanka’s culinary identity before one of the most dynamic regional audiences in the world.

The series is the brainchild of Marikkar — author, food storyteller and an unapologetic champion of Sri Lankan cuisine. What began as a cookbook evolved — through persistence, private backing and creative risk — into a broadcast production that now carries Sri Lanka’s culinary narrative beyond its shores.

“This was never just about recipes,” Marikkar told the audience. “It was about representing Sri Lanka as it truly is — multi-ethnic, modern, chaotic, generous and absolutely obsessed with flavour.”

Her long-time collaborator Afdhel Aziz framed it in strategic terms.

“Sri Lanka has always had depth and brilliance,” Aziz said. “What it hasn’t always had is ownership of its narrative. When you tell your story authentically on a platform like National Geographic, you’re not just entertaining — you’re reframing perception.”

Perception, in tourism economics, is currency.

Bakmee Perera Vice President – Communications Planning and Media Strategy at Dentsu Grant Media, described the partnership with National Geographic India — part of the Jio Star Network and Disney International — as a structural milestone.

“This marks Sri Lanka’s first long-term content partnership agreement with an international network,” she said. “It extends beyond linear television into digital platforms. It is a significant step in global content affiliation.”

For Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry, the timing is strategic. Indian arrivals have rebounded strongly, surpassing pre-2018 levels, and industry leaders see culinary storytelling as a natural extension of destination branding.

Kamal Munasinghe, Senior Vice President – Colombo Hotels at Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts and General Manager of Cinnamon Life, put it plainly.

“We have always spoken about sun, sea and sand,” he said. “But we have not spoken enough about our food. Other destinations have built tourism identities around cuisine. Sri Lanka has not done enough in that space.”

He recalled stopping on the roadside en route to Ella for oil roti served with mushroom curry — a humble meal prepared by a woman supporting her family.

“That is the story we are bringing to the world,” he added. “There is culture, resilience and love in that plate.”

Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, the title sponsor, features four of its properties in the series, including Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Cinnamon Wild Yala and Cinnamon Bentota Beach — the latter a tropical modernist icon designed by Geoffrey Bawa.

Bawa once reframed Sri Lanka architecturally, merging landscape with structure in ways that drew global admiration. In many respects, Jayaflava attempts a similar reframing — merging food, people and place into a narrative that feels both intimate and expansive.

The series moves through midnight kottu stalls, animated kitchen debates, artists’ studios and coastal bars. It captures contradiction — humour alongside hardship, ambition alongside nostalgia. It is not polished tourism propaganda, but textured storytelling.

Sri Lanka has often been presented to the world as either idyllic escape or troubled headline. Rarely as complex, contemporary and confident. By choosing food — the most universal of connectors — as its narrative vehicle, the country sidesteps cliché and leans into authenticity.

As the morning launch concluded, one message lingered: this is not simply a television debut. It is soft power in motion.

A nation, reframed — one dish at a time.

Business

Bourse buoyed by IMF chief’s positive observations

Published

20 hours ago

2026/02/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

CSE grading was brisk and investor sentiment rose to a great extent when

the International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who is on a visit to Sri Lanka, made positive remarks on the progress of the local economy.

She made these comments after meeting President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and other relevant officials.

Consequent to these developments both indices moved upwards. The All Share Price Index went up by 37.02 points, while the S and P SL20 rose by 47.12 points.

Turnover stood at Rs 5.66 billion with nine crossings. Those crossings were reported in ACL Cables, where 1.5 million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 154.6 million; its shares traded at Rs 103,CW Macky two million shares crossed for Rs 82 million; its shares sold at Rs 41, Dipped Products 1 million shares crossed for Rs 61 million; its shares traded at Rs 58.

Colombo Dockyard 350,000 shares crossed to the tune of Rs 56.3 million; its shares traded at Rs 151, HNB 100,000 shares crossed for Rs 45.5 million; its shares traded at Rs 455,Royal Ceramics 500,000 crossed for Rs 25.5 million; its shares sold at Rs 51 and JKH one million shares crossed to the tune of Rs 22.4 million; its shares sold at Rs 22.40.

In the retail market top seven companies that mainly contributed to the turnover were; Softlogic Capital Rs 511 million (51.2 million shares traded), ACL Cables Rs 439 million (4.2 million shares traded), Asia Siyaka Rs 307 million (19.5 million shares traded), Sampath Bank Rs 251 million (1.6 million shares traded), HNB Rs 231 million (507,000 shares traded), Softlogic Finance Rs 205 million (31.4 million shares traded) and HNB Finance Rs 171 million (19 million traded). During the day 289.2 million share volumes changed hands in 42524 transactions.

It is said that the banking and manufacturing sectors performed well. Sampath Bank, for instance, was notable. Financial sector too performed well; especially Softlogic Finance.

Yesterday the rupee was quoted at Rs 309.42/44 to the US dollar in the spot market from Rs 309.40/50 the previous day, dealers said, while bond yields were broadly steady.

A bond maturing on 15.10.2029 was quoted at 9.40/45 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.03.2030 was quoted flat at 9.50/53 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.03.2031 was quoted at 9.70/75 percent, from 9.68/72 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.10.2032 was quoted at 10.10/42 percent, up from 10.10/13 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.06.2033 was quoted at 10.38/43 percent, up from 10.35/40 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.06.2036 was quoted at 10.60/65 percent.

An auction of Rs. 60,000 million Treasury bills was going on.

By Hiran H Senewiratne

Business

A photograph of a Jaffna youth becomes a global symbol for Sri Lanka’s stalled reconciliation

Published

20 hours ago

2026/02/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

In the world of travel photography, some images do more than showcase a destination; they act as a silent mirror to a nation’s unresolved history. When British photographer Mark Julian Edwards’ portrait, ‘The Boy on the Bus,’ claimed the People’s Choice Award at the 2026 Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards, it did more than celebrate technical brilliance. It signaled that the global community is still fixated on the scars of a region where the promise of a post-2009 peace has yet to be fully realised.

While the current NPP government often celebrates a ‘reunited’ Sri Lanka under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, this award-winning shot turns the gaze toward Jaffna – a city that remains the emotional and political epicenter of the North-South divide. Captured through a rusting bus window, the boy’s expression – described as ‘fragile yet incredibly resilient’ – speaks to the persistent chasm between the North and the South that has remained unbridged nearly two decades after the war’s end.

Whatever the rhetoric from political platforms regarding the end of distrust, the international resonance of this image suggests that the world recognises a different reality. The capture of a northern commute is not merely a travel detail; it is a reminder of a landscape where the path to a predictable future is still viewed through a prism of distrust and uncertainty.

The significance of this win lies in its source: the public vote. Out of 20,000 entries, thousands of people from 160 countries chose this specific face. This global endorsement serves as a poignant reminder that while the local reconciliation process may be stalled in policy and paperwork, the human element of the conflict continues to haunt the international imagination.

The boy represents a generation born after the guns fell silent, yet his quiet, searching eyes reflect the weight of a reconciliation process that many feel has been more about infrastructure than true social healing. In the North, where the dust of history is still settling, such images strip away the veneer of normalcy to reveal the underlying scars that politicians often ignore.

The success of Edwards’ work comes at a time when the Sri Lankan Tourism Bureau and Jetwing Hotels are looking to nurture the next generation of local storytellers. However, the global acclaim for ‘The Boy on the Bus’ suggests that the most vital stories to be told are not the ones that look like postcards, but the ones that acknowledge the sensitivity and professional excellence required to document a people still waiting for a ta truly inclusive future.

As this image makes its way into international galleries and media outlets like the BBC, it stands as a testament to a hard truth: a photograph can win international accolades but the bridging of the political and social chasm remains Sri Lanka’s true, unfinished business.

The 2026 Travel Photographer of the Year winners were showcased and celebrated in Sharjah – UAE, Birmingham – UK and Rome – Italy. This year’s programme includes a special mentorship and winners’ trip to Sri Lanka, hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and Jetwing Hotels.

By Sanath Nanayakkare