The Centre for Human Rights and Research (CHRR) is an independent organisation working on reconciliation in Sri Lanka. It was created in 2010 as a research centre, focused on identifying the key issues of the reconciliation process in the country. It then gradually evolved into a pressure group that addresses these issues both at the local and national level.
The scope of CHRR’s work is broad and its researched areas include: human rights, IDPs’ rights, livelihood and resettlement, torture, freedom of expression, and gender. For example, CHRR has highlighted the challenges faced by internally displaced persons who do not have any identification document, and who are thus prevented from accessing basic public services in health and education. CHRR has also researched other problems regarding the resettlement of IDPs, such as their right to return to their communities and the right of private property.
The Centre runs the news website Lanka Freedom, where there are daily updates on human rights and reconciliation issues. It also monitored all the sessions of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, at the national and local level, and it compiled detailed reports of each meeting as well as on the progress of the whole process.