The NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESOHR) was established on July 9, 2004, in
Kilinochchi
Kilinochchi ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி, translit=Kiḷinocci; si, කිලිනොච්චි, translit=Girānika) is the main town of Kilinochchi District, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road som ...
as part of the 2002 Norway-facilitated peace process to improve human rights in the north east of Sri Lanka.
NESOHR functioned in the Tamil areas until the end of 2008 when it was forced to end its operations. During its operations from Vanni, it released a large number of reports on the ongoing atrocities against Tamils. It was relaunched again in 2013 from outside Sri Lanka.
Joseph Pararajasingham, a member of the Sri Lankan Parliament, and
A. Chandranehru
Ariyanayagam Chandranehru ( ta, அரியநாயகம் சந்திரநேரு; 15 October 1944 – 8 February 2005) was a Sri Lankan Tamil merchant seaman, politician and Member of Parliament.
Early life and family
Chandranehru ...
, a former member of Sri Lankan Parliament, were founding members of NESOHR. Both were later
assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
, allegedly by
para-military
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
members.
[
Father ]M. X. Karunaratnam
Reverend Father Mariampillai Xavier Karunaratnam was a minority Sri Lankan Tamil, Roman Catholic parish priest and a human rights activist. He was the Chairperson of the NESOHR and was killed on 20 April 2008 allegedly by a Long Range Reconnais ...
was Chairperson of the organization until his assassination on April 20, 2008. In a press release, NESOHR condemned, "in the strongest possible terms", "the Sri Lankan State" for his death.
NESOHR has been cited by the BBC and Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
,Association of Humanitarian Lawyers
Association may refer to:
*Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal
*Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry
*Voluntary associatio ...
to discuss the application of international humanitarian law to Sri Lanka's armed conflict.
See also
* Human Rights in Sri Lanka
References
External links
NESOHR official website
Imprisonment and detention
2004 establishments in Sri Lanka
Human rights organisations based in Sri Lanka
Organizations established in 2004
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