Journal Article (6)
Book (4)
Internet Publication (6)
Chapter (3)
Research programmes
Research Interests
Human Rights Law, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Religion
Gehan Gunatilleke is a researcher focusing on state authority to restrict the freedom of religion or belief, and the freedom of expression under international human rights law. He is also a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School where he is pursuing a book project on religious violence and constitutionalism in Sri Lanka.
Gehan has a DPhil in Law, and an MSt in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. He is a former Commonwealth Scholar, and a recipient of the Mr and Mrs Kenny Lam Scholarship in Law at St Catherine's College. Gehan also has an LL.M from Harvard Law School, where he was a Fulbright Scholar and a Dean's Scholar in International Human Rights.
Gehan is a former advisor to the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry (2015-2018), where he specialised in international treaty compliance, and negotiation. He has served on legislative drafting committees that have drafted key human rights laws in Sri Lanka including the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance Act. His advocacy work in Sri Lanka has focused primarily on combating ethno-religious violence and state regulation of mainstream and social media. He is also a founding partner at LexAG, a law firm specialising in Sri Lankan civil and public law.
Gehan has taught post-graduate courses on human rights, democratisation and development offered by the University of Colombo, University of Sydney and Open University of Sri Lanka. He is currently a graduate tutor in human rights law at St. Catherine's College. He has authored several publications, including 'The Chronic and the Entrenched: Ethno-religious Violence in Sri Lanka' (2018), and 'Confronting the Complexity of Loss: Perspectives on Truth, Memory and Justice in Sri Lanka' (2015).
Human Rights Law, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Religion