Reports

Sri Lanka’s Lack of Will to Prosecute Past Abuses

The 49-page report, “‘Not Genuine with Justice’: Sri Lanka’s Lack of Will to Prosecute Past Abuses,” provides an overview of domestic justice efforts in seven prominent cases of grave abuses in which the Dissanayake government has made a measure of progress since taking office in 2024. Human Rights Watch found that many emblematic cases, including a massacre of aid workers, the targeting of journalists, and enforced disappearances of academics and others, remain stalled, while families of victims and human rights defenders face threats and intimidation.
 

A police officer stands guard in front of the Chemmani mass grave site in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, July 26, 2025.
A man holds a flower and the message "Humanity for All" in front of a line of soldiers

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