Reports

Open Wounds and Mounting Dangers

Blocking Accountability for Grave Abuses in Sri Lanka

The 93-page report, “Open Wounds and Mounting Dangers: Blocking Accountability for Grave Abuses in Sri Lanka,” examines efforts by the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to thwart justice in seven prominent human rights cases. It describes the current context of government repression of activists, journalists, lawyers, and the families of victims, as well as threats against vulnerable minorities. The United Nations Human Rights Council, at its session beginning February 22, 2021, should adopt a resolution upholding justice for serious international crimes in Sri Lanka and condemning ongoing abuses.

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  • “Why Can’t We Go Home?”

    Military Occupation of Land in Sri Lanka

    This report details security force occupation of land both during and after the armed conflict.

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  • Locked Up Without Evidence

    Abuses under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act

    This report documents previous and ongoing abuses committed under the PTA, including torture and sexual abuse, forced confessions, and systematic denials of due process.

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  • “All Five Fingers Are Not the Same”

    Discrimination on Grounds of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in Sri Lanka

    This report finds that people who don’t conform to gender norms face arbitrary detention, mistreatment, and discrimination accessing employment, housing, and health care. The government should protect the rights of transgender people and others who face similar discrimination, Human Rights Watch said.

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    Cover image for Sri Lanka Report

  • “We Live in Constant Fear”

    Lack of Accountability for Police Abuse in Sri Lanka

    This 59-page report documents various torture methods used by the Sri Lankan police against criminal suspects, including severe beatings, electric shock, suspension from ropes in painful positions, and rubbing chili paste in the genitals and eyes.

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  • "We Will Teach You a Lesson"

    Sexual Violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan Security Forces

    The 140-page report provides detailed accounts of 75 cases of alleged rape and sexual abuse that occurred from 2006-2012 in both official and secret detention centers throughout Sri Lanka.

  • Walls at Every Turn

    Abuse of Migrant Domestic Workers through Kuwait’s Sponsorship System

    This 97-page report describes how workers become trapped in exploitative or abusive employment then face criminal penalties for leaving a job without the employer’s permission.

  • Slow Reform

    Protection of Migrant Domestic Workers in Asia and the Middle East

    This 26-page report reviews conditions in eight countries with large numbers of migrant domestic workers: Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Singapore, and Malaysia.

  • Legal Limbo

    The Uncertain Fate of Detained LTTE Suspects in Sri Lanka

    This 30-page report is based on interviews with the detainees' relatives, humanitarian workers, and human rights advocates, among others. The Sri Lankan government has routinely violated the fundamental rights of the detainees, Human Rights Watch found.

  • War on the Displaced

    Sri Lankan Army and LTTE Abuses against Civilians in the Vanni

    This 45-page report is based on a two-week fact-finding mission to northern Sri Lanka in February. The government has prohibited journalists and human rights monitors from going to the battle zone in the Vanni, making access to information difficult.

  • Besieged, Displaced, and Detained

    The Plight of Civilians in Sri Lanka’s Vanni Region

    This 49-page report documents the Sri Lankan government's responsibility for the plight of the 230,000 to 300,000 displaced persons trapped in the Vanni conflict zone. They face severe shortages of food and other essentials because of government restrictions on humanitarian assistance.

  • Trapped and Mistreated

    LTTE Abuses against Civilians in the Vanni

    This 17-page report details how the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which have been fighting for an independent Tamil state for 25 years, are brutally abusing the Tamil population in areas under their control.

  • Recurring Nightmare

    State Responsibility for "Disappearances" and Abductions in Sri Lanka

    The resumption of major military operations between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in mid-2006 has brought the return of a haunting phenomenon from the country's past-the widespread abduction and "disappearance" of young men by the parties to the conflict.

  • "As If I Am Not Human"

    Abuses against Asian Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia

    This 133-page report concludes two years of research and is based on 142 interviews with domestic workers, senior government officials, and labor recruiters in Saudi Arabia and labor-sending countries.

  • Recurring Nightmare

    State Responsibility for “Disappearances” and Abductions in Sri Lanka

    This 241-page report documents 99 of the several hundred cases reported, and examines the Sri Lankan government’s response, which to date has been grossly inadequate.