DEMOCRATIC DILEMMA: Ethnic Violence and Human Rights in Sri Lanka

18 Feb, 2009 · N. Manoharan

This book deals with issues linking ethnic violence and human rights in Sri Lanka which being a small aid-dependent country is under the scanner of the donor community. An incisive commentary on Sri Lanka, this is a valuable contribution to the literature in the field of peace and conflict. It is a unique contribution to the literature in the field of 'peace and conflict' with extensive field research, intensive interviews, credible facts and figures. Sri Lanka is arguably one of the most violent modern states. Over the past decade, ethnic violence has emerged as a significant factor in state-society relations. As a result, there is disregard for some of the basic human rights. Lack of accountability and awareness of rights on the part of both security forces and militants continue to hinder human rights safeguard in the Islands. There exist good mechanisms for rights protection in Sri Lanka.

Table of Contents

1. Ethnic Violence and Human Rights: An Analytical Framework
    1.1 Defining Key Concepts
    1.2 Approaches to Ethnic Violence
    1.3 Use and Justifications of Ethnic Violence
    1.4 Ethnic Violence and Human Rights
    1.5 Forms of Human Rights Violations
    1.6 Safeguarding Human Rights

2. Ethnic Violence in Sri Lanka: Origin, Forms and Patterns
    2.1 Profile of the Island
    2.2 Scope of Definition in the Sri Lankan Context
    2.3 Roots of Ethnic Violence
    2.4 Forms and Patterns

3. Dimensions of Human Rights Violations
3.1 Forms of Violations
3.2 Major Elements Behind Violations

4. Protection of Human Rights: Internal Mechanisms
4.1 State Institutions
4.2 Civil-Society Institutions

5. International Protection of Human Rights
    5.1 International Human Rights Instruments
    5.2 Convention and Protocol Obligations
    5.3 Preparation of Briefing Material
    5.4 Global Civil Society
    5.5 International Donor Countries

6. Resolving the `Democratic Dilemma'
    6.1 Pathology of Ethnic Violence
    6.2 Anatomy of Human Rights Violations
    6.3 Physiology of Human Rights Protection

About the Author
N. Manoharan until recently was a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies in New Delhi. In 2005, he was a Visiting South Asia Fellow at the East-West Center Washington.

New Delhi, Samskriti. 2008.

N. Manoharan
New Delhi: Samskriti