Features

Universal jurisdiction and Sri Lanka: Does govt. have coherent policy?

Published

3 years ago

2023/01/16

By Dharshan Weerasekera

In March 2021, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights recommended that actions under universal jurisdiction be pursued against Sri Lankan military officers and civilian leaders who led the war against the LTTE. (A/HRC/46/20). The recommendation was repeated in March 2022 and September 2022. (A/HRC/49/9 and A/HRC/51/5). Meanwhile, in March 2021, by resolution 46/1, the Human Rights Council established a mechanism to collect evidence of war crimes purportedly committed during the war to be forwarded to countries interested in prosecuting individuals for the crimes in question.

Unfortunately, there is little or no discussion in local newspapers and academic journals about whether the drive to pursue Sri Lankans under universal jurisdiction is legitimate. It is in the public interest to start such a discussion. I argue that, firstly, universal jurisdiction as currently understood in international law cannot be applied to Sri Lankan officers and civilian leaders who oversaw the war. Secondly, there is a danger that acts of commission or omission by the government could lead to the relevant law being changed in regard to the said matter, with grave consequences not just for Sri Lanka but for other countries as well.

In this article, I shall briefly explain: i) what universal jurisdiction is and its benefits as well as drawbacks, ii) the unique attribute about universal jurisdiction and the danger of Sri Lanka setting a precedent, iii) the sources of the allegations of war crimes against Sri Lanka, iv) the flaw in the government’s response so far.

i) Definition, benefits and drawbacks of universal jurisdiction

Universal jurisdiction is the capacity of States to prosecute non-citizens for international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and others. The benefit of the procedure is that it provides a way to hold accountable persons who may have committed certain heinous crimes who might otherwise avoid answering for such deeds by hiding behind domestic laws. The drawback is that this process can be exploited. Anthony J. Colangelo, a scholar at Columbia University, says:

“Universal jurisdiction has been hailed as a catalyst for the global struggle to bring to justice elusive international criminals like tyrants and terrorists, while on the other hand decried as a dangerously pliable tool for hostile states to damage international relations by initiating unfounded proceedings against each other’s officials and citizens.” (Anthony J. Colangelo, ‘The Legal Limits of Universal Jurisdiction,’ Virginal Journal of International Law (2006), Vol. 47, 20, p. 151.)

ii) The unique attribute of Universal Jurisdiction

According to Colangelo, the unique feature of universal jurisdiction is that in regard to its exercise adjudicative jurisdiction (the authority to subject a person to judicial process) and prescriptive jurisdiction (the authority to apply a country’s laws to persons and things) are both determined by international law.

Adjudicative jurisdiction is determined by the relevant treaties. Colangelo says, “The treaties proscribing the various universal crimes represent a relatively longstanding consensus not only as to the prohibition of these crimes but also—necessarily—as to their substance” (p. 155.)

Prescriptive jurisdiction, meanwhile, is determined by customary international law. Colangelo says, “Evolution in custom likewise may alter and even expand the capacity of states to allow procedurally for universal adjudicative jurisdiction over perpetrators of international crimes” (p. 174). In my view, this is where the problem arises. Customary international law can evolve or change through state practice, which naturally includes acquiescence.

To turn to the current position of customary international law in regard to universal jurisdiction, Roger O’Keefe, a well-known lecturer at Cambridge University, contends that there must be some link between the impugned conduct and the interest of the prescribing State. (See Roger O’Keefe, ‘Universal Jurisdiction: Clarifying the Basic Concepts,’ Journal of International Criminal Justice 2 (2004), pp. 5-6) For instance, he discusses a number of ‘heads of jurisdiction,’ namely—territoriality, nationality of the offender, nationality of the victim, or offender’s service in the armed forces of the prescribing State—one or more of which are required for the exercise of universal jurisdiction.

It is difficult to imagine circumstances where other countries could claim such links in regard to acts purportedly committed during the conflict in Sri Lanka. Therefore, as matters stand, attempts at invoking universal jurisdiction against Sri Lankans who led the war-effort would most likely fail at the initial stage. However, if the government acquiesces when attempts are made to invoke universal jurisdiction based on material submitted by the impugned mechanism pursuant to a call for such action by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, a judge might interpret his or her role as facilitating the UNHRC’s human rights mandate and issue summons on the accused.

iii) The sources of the allegations of war crimes against Sri Lanka

To the best of my knowledge, there are three sources: first, reports by private organizations and NGO’s, second, reports associated the U.N. or the UNHRC and finally, the impugned mechanism. Of these, the findings of private organizations and NGO’s usually do not carry much weight unless they are supplemented by official reports of the U.N. or other recognized bodies.

To turn to the latter, there are two reports that are relevant to Sri Lanka: a) the Report of the Secretary General’s Panel of Experts (March 2011) also called ‘Darusman Report,’ and b) the Report of the Office of the High Commissioner’s Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL report) of September 2015. The Darusman Report was commissioned by then U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon for his personal use and not the result of a collective decision by a UN body. It suffers from this infirmity. However, the OISL report was authorised by resolution 25/1 of March 2014 and is the only official report of the UNHRC on the subject of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately, the findings of this report are of dubious value. To give just one example, consider perhaps the most famous allegation, the so-called ‘White Flag’ incident. The allegation is that, LTTE Political Wing leaders Nadesan, Pullidevan along with Nadesan’s wife and a number of others surrendered to the army and were subsequently killed.

The OISL panel analyzed photos and videos of the dead bodies, and also considered witness testimonies and open sources. They then conclude: “[Nadesan and the others] may have been executed by the Sri Lankan security forces sometime after 6.000 am on 18th May. However, further investigation is required to determine the full facts as to what happened and who was responsible for the killings” (OISL report, para 305).

The point is that, after analyzing all of the evidence in its possession, the best that the OISL panel could do is conclude that it does not know exactly what happened and recommend further investigations in order to find out what happened. It is difficult to see how a judge would issue summons based on such findings. (For a detailed analysis of all of the OISL’s charges, see Dharshan Weerasekera, ‘A Factual Appraisal of the OISL Report,’ Sarasavi Publishers, 2020)

That leaves the evidence-gathering mechanism established under resolution 46/1. The problem with this mechanism is that the material purportedly collected by it is accessible only to a handful of officials at the High Commissioner’s office. It is reported that, the unit has amassed over a hundred thousand pieces of evidence. However, it is a fundamental principal of the law of evidence that, ‘Evidence is weighed, not counted.’

No one knows what would happen if the material in question was subjected to even a rudimentary assessment considering such factors as delay, exculpatory evidence, conflict of interest (for instance, whether the witnesses were paid or granted other benefits). It is also reported that, the unit is funded entirely though voluntary contributions, which raises the spectre of politicization.

iv) The Flaw in the Government’s policy

The government has rejected the impugned mechanism. However, to the best of my knowledge, it has never yet objected to the High Commissioner’s call for countries to exercise universal jurisdiction against Sri Lankans. In my opinion, this leaves an opening for the UNHRC to continue to use the material purportedly collected by the unit regardless the government’s putative objections to it.

Conclusion

The government has an obligation to put an end to attempts at sullying the war-victory if, as it now appears to be the case, the available sources of evidence of purported war crimes are either demonstrably weak, or worse, the evidence is being funneled in secret directly to the prosecuting agencies without the accused persons or the government ever getting a chance to respond.

The government also has a responsibility not to permit alterations in customary international law in ways adverse to the interests of Sri Lanka as well as other countries. Concerned citizens should demand of the government whether it has a policy on the universal jurisdiction issue separate from that towards the evidence-gathering mechanism, and if so to explain exactly what that policy is.

(The writer is an Attorney-at-law.)

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Features

US’ anti-migrant stance set to intensify tensions in Western camp

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Migrant boats land on Western beaches. Credit: PA

The announcement by the US authorities of an anti-migrant stance during a recent commemoration in France of the epochal D-Day Landings of June 6, 1944, ought to strike impartial observers as a supreme irony. Whereas what should have been expected was a vibrant celebration of the beginning of the process of Western Europe freeing itself decisively from Nazi or fascist control during the crucial stages of World War Two, this was not to be.

What the world heard instead was a call to contemporary Western Europe to arm itself against a seemingly rising and threatening migrant presence in the region. In other words, the migrant must be despised and ‘shown the door’.

Instead of a commemoration that rejoiced in the flourishing of liberal democracy and its values what one got was a strong affirmation of fascism and racial chauvinism. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vented his spleen against the migrant or foreigner presence in Europe reportedly thus: ‘Sadly today different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies.’ To ‘beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria, boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion?’

While at the outbreak of World War Two it was Nazi Germany that was doing the invading and bringing some principal European countries under its suzerainty, this time around we are being given to understand that it’s migrants to the West who are seeking to colonize the latter. It goes without saying that such inflammatory rhetoric would have the deleterious effect of keeping racial tensions alive in the West and jeopardize all possibilities of the countries concerned cementing and maintaining social stability.

The Trump administration gives the impression of taking a leaf from the politically underdeveloped regions of the South to keep the US polity stable and united. In South Asia, for instance, we are not short of ambitious demagogues who use what is referred to as the ‘race card’ to gather unto themselves a following and thereby further their political fortunes. By seeking to stir and sustain anti-migrant hysteria, the Trump administration is also essentially replicating Nazi Germany’s policy of anti-Semitism. That is, fascism is very much alive in the US under President Trump.

Such efforts at churning racial hysteria at this juncture in the US should not come as a surprise. For all intents and purposes, the Trump administration is nowhere near achieving its aims in West Asia, for instance, in the short term. It has failed to bring Iran down to its knees, as it hoped to do, but is adopting the expedient of keeping the world guessing and confused on what it is doing in the region, since it cannot withdraw from the theatre in a hurry without losing face.

While perhaps working out an escape strategy the Trump administration it seems, is hoping to maintain its following at home intact and silent by playing on their racial biases and insecurities. Hence, the anti-foreigner campaign.

Simultaneously, the Trump administration will need to keep a close eye on how economic pressures on the domestic front are panning out. Anti-administration sentiments first break to the surface at meal tables. On this score, the news cannot be good because the average US family’s spending power ought to be shrinking on account of rising energy and oil prices. Consequently, it would not be a bad idea to keep the attention of the US consumer diverted by adeptly playing ‘the race card’; once again, lessons from intellectually bankrupt Southern politicians are coming in handy.

To be sure such comparisons many politicians in vibrantly democratic countries would find quite unflattering. But the stark truth is that racism cannot be tolerated in civilized societies and those politicians who resort to it risk being branded as racists of the first degree. In fact they could be seen as being on par with the likes of German dictator Adolph Hitler and his close collaborators.

However, on the question of migrant policy the Trump administration would likely be at polar opposites with the most vibrant of liberal democracies of the West. This will be the case with the UK, France and Italy for instance. The latter continue to keep their doors open to legal migrants and they are likely to view a virtual blanket ban on migrants as reprehensible.

Moreover, in the foremost democracies of the West debates are vibrantly ongoing on the need to keep racism or any hint of it completely outlawed in the public plane. There is the case of the UK, for instance, where the authorities continue to emphatically pinpoint their adherence to the principle of anti-racism in the conduct of public affairs.

One proof of the above was the parliamentary debate relating to the killing of 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton. Police handling of the victim came in for sharp scrutiny by particularly the opposition in the House of Commons but there seemed to be a consensus over the main political divide that the matter should not be politicized.

Moreover, the UK authorities stressed in the House the government’s strict adherence to the policy of non-racism. It was also pointed out that British institutions set up to manage racism at the national, county and neighbourhood levels, for example, were very much intact. In fact, Sri Lanka could gain considerably by studying and implementing locally, legislation modeled on the relevant UK laws if it is in earnest when it speaks of ‘reconciliation’.

Accordingly, it is highly unlikely that Western Europe would ‘cave in’, so to speak, to US pressure on issues related to migration. The liberal democracies of Western Europe in particular would remain for the foreseeable future migrant-welcoming, multi-ethnic and plural democracies.

Nor is it likely that Western Europe would be passively receptive to US demands that it drastically increases its defense spending to meet the latter’s demands. Within the Western fold the EU is remaining committed to backing Ukraine, for instance, in its ongoing armed resistance to the Russian invasion and it is not giving any indication of being deferent to US pressure.

However, although tensions would continue to bristle within US-Western Europe relations on the above and numerous other matters of contention it would be far too premature to announce a parting of company between the two sections of the West. In that sense, the post-World War Two order remains essentially intact. There are still many things in common between the two, particular on the economic plane, that will ensure the continuance of the partnership.

Features

A decade among Yala’s ghosts of gold

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

YM75 "James" surveys his territory from a tree-top vantage point, demonstrating the leopard's commanding presence in the landscape.

The first rays of dawn creep over the ancient rocks of Yala. The Indian Ocean glimmers in the distance, and the wilderness slowly awakens. Somewhere amid the scrub jungle, a pair of amber eyes scans the landscape.

For wildlife conservationist and leopard researcher Milinda Wattegedara, moments such as these have defined more than a decade of dedication to one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic creatures—the Sri Lankan leopard.

What began as fascination evolved into a remarkable conservation journey that has transformed the understanding of Yala’s leopard population and placed Sri Lanka firmly on the global wildlife research map.

“Long before I ever lifted a camera, leopards had already captured my imagination,” says Wattegedara. “What fascinated me was not merely their beauty but the complexity of their lives—their hunting strategies, movements, reproductive behaviour and their remarkable ability to adapt to changing environments.”

That fascination led to the birth of the Yala Leopard Diary in 2013, an ambitious long-term project dedicated to documenting individual leopards and unraveling the mysteries surrounding their lives.

For many visitors, a leopard sighting is a fleeting thrill. For Wattegedara and his team, every encounter is a chapter in an ongoing scientific story.

“Each photograph was never the end of an encounter,” he explains. “It was the beginning of deeper questions. How did a particular leopard use the landscape? How did its behaviour change with the seasons? What environmental pressures shaped its decisions?”

These questions drove years of meticulous fieldwork. Every sighting was carefully recorded with details including location, habitat, behaviour, date and time. Photographs were analysed to identify individual animals through unique spot patterns, allowing researchers to distinguish one leopard from another with remarkable accuracy.

What followed was groundbreaking.

YF77 “Shelly” pauses in quiet observation, embodying the alertness
and grace that define Yala’s leopard population.

From 2013 to 2026, the Yala Leopard Diary identified an astonishing 189 individual leopards within the Yala Block 1. The research revealed a leopard density of approximately 0.524 leopards per square kilometre, making Yala one of the highest leopard-density landscapes ever recorded anywhere in the world.

Such findings have elevated Yala’s status among global wildlife researchers.

Nestled between the Indian Ocean and a mosaic of habitats, ranging from rocky outcrops to dense scrub forests, Yala offers an ecological stage unlike any other.

Here, leopards are photographed silhouetted against ocean horizons, perched atop ancient granite formations, resting on tree branches and stalking prey across sunlit grasslands.

The images tell stories of extraordinary lives.

There is Haminee, a devoted mother navigating the challenges of raising cubs in a competitive landscape. There is Lucas, one of Yala’s most frequently documented males, striding confidently across the Gonalabba Plains with the vast ocean forming an unforgettable backdrop.

There is Ruki demonstrating the species’ incredible strength by hoisting prey onto branches, and Shelly, quietly surveying her surroundings in a moment of feline vigilance.

Together, these individuals have become familiar characters in a living wilderness drama.

YM31 “Ruki” secures prey on a branch, illustrating the remarkable strength and coordination of the Sri Lankan leopard.

Recognising the immense value of long-term documentation, Wattegedara joined forces with fellow researchers Dushyantha Silva, Raveendra Siriwardana and Mevan Piyasena to establish the Yala Leopard Centre in 2020.

Located at the Palatupana entrance to the Yala National Park, the centre is believed to be the world’s first information facility dedicated exclusively to leopards.

“The centre serves as a repository of knowledge, accumulated through years of observation and research,” Wattegedara says. “Our goal is to connect visitors with the science behind conservation and foster a deeper appreciation of these magnificent animals.”

The project’s impact extends far beyond Sri Lanka’s borders.

Research arising from the Yala Leopard Diary has been published in internationally recognised scientific journals. One study introduced an innovative framework for identifying individual leopards, while another documented an extraordinary and previously unrecorded case of a leopard cub being consecutively adopted by two different adult females—first a relative and later an unrelated leopardess.

The discovery attracted international scientific attention and highlighted the complexity of leopard social behaviour.

Yet for Wattegedara, the most important lesson remains one of humility.

“One conclusion has become increasingly clear,” he reflects. “Our understanding of these leopards remains far from complete. We are only beginning to understand how they live, adapt and persist in one of Sri Lanka’s most dynamic protected landscapes.”

YF15 “Hope” descends Rukvila Rock at dawn, showcasing the agility and adaptability of Yala’s leopards.

His words underscore an essential conservation truth: the more we learn about nature, the more mysteries emerge.

As Sri Lanka navigates growing environmental challenges, the Yala Leopard Diary stands as a shining example of what sustained observation, scientific curiosity and public engagement can achieve.

Beyond the stunning photographs and remarkable sightings lies something even more valuable—a growing body of knowledge capable of informing future conservation decisions and ensuring that future generations inherit a wilderness where leopards continue to roam free.

For more than a decade, Wattegedara and his colleagues have followed the tracks of Yala’s elusive predators through dust, rain and scorching heat.

Their work has revealed that every leopard has a story, every sighting has significance and every photograph can contribute to conservation.

And perhaps, most importantly, it has reminded us that the golden ghosts of Yala still have many secrets left to share.

By Ifham Nizam

Features

Glamour, music and community spirit …

Published

2 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lankans are quite active, all around the globe.

News has just come my way, from Glasgow, in Scotland, where the glamour of masks, music, dancing, and community spirit, came together, in spectacular fashion, at Masquerade Night, bringing together members of the Sri Lankan community for an evening filled with music, fashion, food and entertainment.

Organised by Mahesh Balaaratchi (DJ Mowgli) together with Sulochana Asmone, Hiroshini, Prasad, Ashi, and Shawn, the evening provided guests with an opportunity to socialise, enjoy live entertainment, and celebrate in a unique and elegant setting.

Guests arrived from 6:00 pm, dressed in formal attire and decorative masks, creating a colourful and vibrant atmosphere throughout the venue.

DJ Mowgli: The main
organiser of
Masquerade Night

There was a delicious selection of Sri Lankan cuisine and street food, which proved popular throughout the evening.

The buffet offered a variety of traditional favourites, giving attendees a taste of home while adding to the festive atmosphere.

Entertainment was provided by DJ Mowgli, whose performance kept the audience engaged throughout the night. His playlist featured a mixture of popular favourites, dance classics, and cultural music, remixed for a younger generation.

One of the highlights of the evening was the Baila session, which brought a distinctly Sri Lankan flavour to the event.

The Baila segment highlighted the importance of preserving and celebrating cultural traditions, while bringing people together through music and dance.

As familiar rhythms filled the room, guests enthusiastically took to the dance floor, creating one of the most memorable moments of the night.

The crowd was described as lively, energetic, and welcoming, with attendees embracing the spirit of the masquerade theme while enjoying the opportunity to reconnect with friends and meet new people. The family-friendly atmosphere ensured that guests of all ages could take part in the celebrations.