During Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanyake’s first year in office, there were many promises of reform and some steps to combat corruption, but no measurable progress on core human rights concerns. Emblematic cases are stalled, while security forces threaten rights defenders and victims’ families.
Sri Lanka has among the highest cases of enforced disappearances. At least 20 mass graves have been discovered. A fresh investigation at Chemmani has recovered remains of over 200 people, including children -- but none have yet been identified. Sri Lanka needs the support of independent experts to help provide answers.
Despite pledges to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the number of people detained without any evident involvement in terrorism has increased. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka told Human Rights Watch in July that it received 736 torture complaints last year.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his report on Sri Lanka, noted entrenched and systemic rights violations, stating that “the structural conditions that led to past violations persist” and that Human Rights Council engagement remains “essential.”
He found that “the surveillance apparatus… has remained largely intact,” leading to continued “intimidation and harassment.” Many victims have braved possible government retaliation to share evidence with the UN’s Sri Lanka Accountability Project.
To uphold the principle of accountability for grave international crimes, and to protect the rights of all Sri Lankans, the Council should renew its dual mandates for evidence gathering and ongoing reporting on Sri Lanka for two more years.
