Optics and Opacity: Breaking Down Meta’s Refusal to Suspend Hun Sen
An opinion piece by Daron Tan, ICJ Associate International Legal Adviser, Asia and the Pacific Programme, published on Tech Policy Press on 20 September 2023. (more…)
Archive | Op-eds
Sri Lanka: Protecting transgender persons: Going beyond rule by circular
An opinion piece by Mathuri Thamilmaran, National Legal Advisor – Sri Lanka at the International Commission of Jurists Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in Sri Lanka have too often been subjected to discrimination, abuse, violence and harassment in violation of their human rights. Throughout the years research reports have continuously identified the […]
Sri Lanka: Adolescent students and discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity/expression
An opinion piece by Mathuri Thamilmaran, National Legal Advisor – Sri Lanka at the International Commission of Jurists A state minister’s recent comment has once again brought to the forefront the need to include comprehensive sex education in the Sri Lankan school curriculum. Back in 2010, the then UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to […]
Statement regarding The 8 March Principles
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) recently published a new set of legal principles to address the harmful human rights impact of unjustified criminalization of individuals and entire communities. The document, known as The 8 March Principles, was elaborated and endorsed by lawyers from around the world and sets out a human rights-based approach to […]
Indonesia: New Penal Code violates women’s human rights
An opinion piece by Ruth Panjaitan, ICJ Legal Adviser for Indonesia and Caleen Chanyungco Obias, ICJ National Legal Consultant for the Philippines (more…)
Decolonising the law: Repeal antiquated “morality laws”
Can an alien cultural and moral imposition in violation of human rights become one’s own law and belief? Indeed, this is what British colonialism gifted Sri Lanka through the introduction of “morality laws”, such as the Vagrants Ordinance of 1841 and the criminalisation of consensual same-sex relationships through the Penal Code of 1883. The conversation […]