Sri Lanka has over the years been at the centre of the human rights debate, often being accused of violating human rights.However now the country is set to be a base for human rights monitoring with one of the world’s leading human rights groups establishing its regional office in Colombo. The Sunday Leader reported that Amnesty International’s South Asia team  will look to operate out of a regional office in Colombo. Amnesty International is a London-based non-governmental organisation focused on human rights. (Colombo Gazette) Earlier this year Amnesty International appointed Biraj Patnaik as the new Regional Director for South Asia.The appointment was seen as deepening Amnesty International’s commitment to the world’s most populous region, moving closer to the ground where human rights abuses are taking place in order to challenge them more effectively. It is also learnt that the Regional Director of Amnesty International is recruiting new staff to be part of the South Asia team.