Sunday Times 2
Deepika Udagama, Esala Weerakoon join RCSS Board
View(s):The Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) welcomed Prof Deepika Udagama and former ambassador Esala Weerakoon to its board of directors, at its meeting held on April 30.
The RCSS is a policy research centre co-founded in 1992 by Prof Shelton Kodikara – its first executive director, to focus on a broad range of conventional and non-conventional sources of conflict and conditions of peace.
Deepika Udagama and Esala Weerakoon
Prof Udagama was the chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (Oct 2015-Aug 2020), a member of the Human Rights Commission (2003-06) and the Law Commission of Sri Lanka (2004-09). She was elected Alternate Member of Sri Lanka to the UN Sub-Commission on the Protection of Human Rights (1998-2001). In 1991 having founded the Centre for the Study of Human Rights (CSHR) at the University of Colombo, and having established the Department of Law at the University of Peradeniya in 2009, until September 2025 she was the Chair Professor of Law at the University of Peradeniya. She received her legal education at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo (LLB (Hons) and LLM Degrees) and School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, USA (LLM and Doctor of Juridical Science (JSD) Degrees in international human rights law).
Esala Weerakoon was the 14th Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) from March 2020 till September 2023. He was the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka (2016-17), Senior Additional Secretary to the President of Sri Lanka (2018-2019 and 2023-24). His 35-year diplomatic career, includes serving as High Commissioner to India, Ambassador to Norway, Deputy Chief of Mission to the USA and in various capacities abroad and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Economic Development. He has an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Kelaniya and MSc from the London School of Economics.