Staff

 

Anushani Alagarajah (Executive Director) holds a liberal arts degree in Asian studies with a minor in Gender Studies from the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh. Her interests are in conflict, violence, and politics of gender.

Over the past nine years, she has worked very closely with war-affected Tamil speaking communities in the North & East of Sri Lanka. She has researched and authored many research reports on several conflict affected communities across Sri Lanka, including the families of the disappeared and ex-combatants. She has curated and is leading capacity building and research training of youth in the North & East of Sri Lanka.

Since 2017, Anushani has been engaging in advocacy efforts on human rights violations against the Tamil community both nationally and internationally. She was a minority fellow in 2018 and a senior minority fellow in 2023 at the OHCHR and has been participating in the UN related advocacy efforts since 2017. Anushani is also an author at the Funambulist Magazine and Adi Magazine, where she wrote in depth about the revolutionary Tamil women-led protests. Anushani has also featured as a speaker in several public talks held at SOAS University of London, Chatham House, City College of New York & The Oakland Institute, and many other discussions locally and internationally to provide expert analysis on issues affecting North & East in Sri Lanka.

Dharsha Jegatheeswaran (Strategic Advisor) is an international lawyer who helped set up ACPR whilst being based in Jaffna between 2016 and 2018. She served as ACPR's Co-Director on a voluntary basis until 2023. She is currently a Pupil Barrister at a based in London, UK where she is a Pupil Barrister at One Pump Court Chambers. She has previously worked for organizations including Reprieve UK, REDRESS and PEARL (People for Equality and Relief in Lanka) and also completed her training at a pre-eminent litigation firm in Toronto. Dharsha holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from McMaster University, a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Toronto and an LLM in Public International Law from the London School of Economics. Her research interests include militarisation, universal jurisdiction, and victim-centred accountability processes. She is called to the Bar in the province of Ontario, Canada and to the Bar of England and Wales.

Shanmuganathan Jayaroshman Ketheesh (Office and Administrative Manager) has over 5 years of experience working in the non-profit sector, and extensive experience working in the private sector. He has previously worked with NGOs including Alliance Development Trust, CARE International and the Vavuniya NGO Consortium. Having worked before to help set up an NGO, Ketheesh joined ACPR in May 2017 to help set up and run administrative affairs.

 

Srinagaruban Pathujan (Researcher) has been at Adayaalam since January 2023. Initially a Junior Researcher, he has held the current post since August 2023. His work involves monitoring and researching ongoing issues affecting the North-East. Pathujan holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Jaffna and he served as a lecturer-in-law there before joining Adayaalam, teaching mainly International Law, Human Rights Law and Legal Theory. He is currently an Oxford Commonwealth Scholar pursuing a Masters in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford.

 

Kumanan Kanapathippillai (Field Investigator), works closely with the war-affected Tamil-speaking communities in the North-East of Sri Lanka, and has been supporting their struggle towards seeking truth and justice through journalism and investigation for more than ten years. He is the primary field investigator for Adayaalam, where he has been since 2018. He is one of a handful of journalists who cover all the major protests in the North-East and one of very few photo-journalists therein. He has investigated and reported on broader issues affecting the North-East, such as the Sinhalization of Tamil areas, land expropriation, militarisation, disappearances and the right to memorialisation. Since June 2023, he has been on a fellowship for journalism in Germany.

 

Senior Researcher Eastern Province - Adayaalam has a Senior Researcher based in Batticaloa with over two decades of experience working with closely with war-affected communities and particular expertise on women's rights and working within a feminist framework.

Dayana (Finance Officer) is a dedicated financial analyst with a commitment to financial excellence and accountability. Joining the team at ACPR in February 2023, she has accumulated over four years of experience in the finance and accounting field. She has previously worked as an Assistant Accountant at Accstra Corporation, she also played a pivotal role as a Project Assistant under a World Bank project in the OTS department at the University of Jaffna.

 

Vacancies

Please email us at info@adayaalam.org if you are interested in applying for the below positions.

Interns

ACPR accepts intern applications on a rolling basis. For more information please email info@adayaalam.org with the subject line 'Intern Application Information'. We are particularly interested in recruiting legal interns for the summer of 2023, and can offer support with visa applications.