Sri Lanka has long played host to a culture of impunity, aggression and oppression which have stymied justice and transparency. The judicial system has also been characterized by a lack of competence and independence. The long list of unpunished murders, abductions and other crimes against victims and witnesses of state crimes have taken away almost all credibility from the justice process and have heightened the prevailing fear of speaking out. All of this has long been known and quietly acknowledged, but it seemed that nothing could or would be done to change the state of affairs. It seemed certain that victims and witnesses of state crimes would always have to testify amidst possibility of being harmed, and that the responsibility of protection would always have to be secretly arranged by civil society activists and human rights defenders.

In late December 2015, the Ministry of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs opened bids from various contractors to build 65,000 houses in the Northern and Eastern Provinces over the next four years. A statement (available here in English, and in Sinhala or Tamil) issued by a group of civil society organisations raises important concerns about this project but there are some additional ones to consider.

Fingerprint identification is one of the oldest forms of biometrics and is often considered reliable because of the uniqueness of fingerprints and easy availability.