Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06COLOMBO242
2006-02-16 07:14:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:
BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON RADHIKA COOMARASWAMY,
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHLM #0242 0470714 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 160714Z FEB 06 FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2576 INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0354 RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1015
C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000242
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SA/INS AND INR/B
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016
TAGS: PHUM PINR CE
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON RADHIKA COOMARASWAMY,
NEWLY APPOINTED UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND
ARMED CONFLICT
Classified By: DCM JAMES F. ENTWISTLE. REASON: 1.4 (B,D).
C O N F I D E N T I A L COLOMBO 000242
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SA/INS AND INR/B
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016
TAGS: PHUM PINR CE
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON RADHIKA COOMARASWAMY,
NEWLY APPOINTED UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND
ARMED CONFLICT
Classified By: DCM JAMES F. ENTWISTLE. REASON: 1.4 (B,D).
1. (C) Radhika Coomaraswamy, whose appointment as UN
Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict was
announced on February 7, has been a close and valued contact
of the Embassy for more than two decades. She has been a
long-standing and vociferous opponent of the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)--earning her the dubious
distinction of being one of the few prominent Tamil
intellectuals still surviving who is not afraid to criticize
the Tigers publicly. As Chairperson of the Human Rights
Commission of Sri Lanka, a post she will relinquish at the
end of February, she has focused attention on human rights
abuses committed by both the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL)
and LTTE--including the Tigers' practice of conscripting
child soldiers. Her appointment as UN Special Representative
on this crucial subject will be a setback to LTTE efforts to
win international legitimacy and sympathy.
2. (SBU) Coomaraswamy was born on September 17, 1953, in
Colombo. Daughter of a UNDP official assigned to the United
Nations in New York, she spent much of her youth (1962-1977)
in the United States. She holds a B.A. from Yale University,
a J.D. from Columbia and an LLM from Harvard. In the
mid-1980s she was named the Director of the International
Center for Ethnic Studies in Colombo, a leading local think
tank on social issues. In 1994 she was appointed UN Special
Rapporteur on Violence against Women, a position she held
until 2003. In May 2003 she was named Chairperson of the
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. In 2005 then-President
Chandrika Kumaratunga conferred on Coomaraswamy the title of
"Deshamanya," the Government's highest honor. Coomaraswamy
is the only woman to have received this award. She has
written extensively, especially on the topics of ethnic
studies and women's issues.
LUNSTEAD
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SA/INS AND INR/B
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2016
TAGS: PHUM PINR CE
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION ON RADHIKA COOMARASWAMY,
NEWLY APPOINTED UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND
ARMED CONFLICT
Classified By: DCM JAMES F. ENTWISTLE. REASON: 1.4 (B,D).
1. (C) Radhika Coomaraswamy, whose appointment as UN
Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict was
announced on February 7, has been a close and valued contact
of the Embassy for more than two decades. She has been a
long-standing and vociferous opponent of the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)--earning her the dubious
distinction of being one of the few prominent Tamil
intellectuals still surviving who is not afraid to criticize
the Tigers publicly. As Chairperson of the Human Rights
Commission of Sri Lanka, a post she will relinquish at the
end of February, she has focused attention on human rights
abuses committed by both the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL)
and LTTE--including the Tigers' practice of conscripting
child soldiers. Her appointment as UN Special Representative
on this crucial subject will be a setback to LTTE efforts to
win international legitimacy and sympathy.
2. (SBU) Coomaraswamy was born on September 17, 1953, in
Colombo. Daughter of a UNDP official assigned to the United
Nations in New York, she spent much of her youth (1962-1977)
in the United States. She holds a B.A. from Yale University,
a J.D. from Columbia and an LLM from Harvard. In the
mid-1980s she was named the Director of the International
Center for Ethnic Studies in Colombo, a leading local think
tank on social issues. In 1994 she was appointed UN Special
Rapporteur on Violence against Women, a position she held
until 2003. In May 2003 she was named Chairperson of the
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. In 2005 then-President
Chandrika Kumaratunga conferred on Coomaraswamy the title of
"Deshamanya," the Government's highest honor. Coomaraswamy
is the only woman to have received this award. She has
written extensively, especially on the topics of ethnic
studies and women's issues.
LUNSTEAD