About Sri Lanka

Listed ongoing Human Rights Violations
 

1. “The current social, economic and governance challenges faced by Sri Lanka indicate the corrosive impact that militarisation and the lack of accountability continue to have on fundamental rights, civic space, democratic institutions, social cohesion and sustainable development.”
    

2. Bachelet noted her regret that “surveillance, intimidation and judicial harassment of human rights defenders, journalists and families of the disappeared has not only continued, but has broadened to a wider spectrum of students, academics, medical professionals and religious leaders critical of government policies. “
    

3. Several peaceful protests and commemorations have been met with excessive use of force and the arrest or detention of demonstrators in quarantine centres.
    

4. New regulations on civil society groups are being drafted, and it is widely feared that they will further tighten restrictions on fundamental freedoms. I urge that the draft be made public to allow the broadest possible discussion.
    

5. I am concerned by developments in judicial proceedings in a number of emblematic human rights cases. They include the Attorney General’s decision not to proceed with charges against former Navy commander Wasantha Karannagoda in the case of the enforced disappearances of 11 men in 2008 and 2009.
    

6. Despite various inquiries, the victims of the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019 and religious leaders continue to call urgently for truth and justice, and a full account of the circumstances that permitted those attacks.
    

7. The President’s recent pardon of a former member of parliament, Duminda Silva, who was convicted for killing a politician in 2011, also risks eroding confidence in the rule of law and judicial process.
    

8. I am deeply concerned about further deaths in police custody, and in the context of police encounters with alleged drug criminal gangs, as well as continuing reports of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officials.
    

9. I urge an immediate moratorium on the use of the Act (PTA), and that a clear timeline be set for its comprehensive review or repeal.
    

10. A new state of emergency was declared in Sri Lanka on 30 August, with the stated aim of ensuring food security and price controls, amid deepening recession. The emergency regulations are very broad and may further expand the role of the military in civilian functions. The Office will be closely monitoring their application.
     

11. HC office was working to “implement the accountability-related aspects of Resolution 46/1”. Thus far they have “developed an information and evidence repository with nearly 120,000 individual items already held by the UN”.
     

12. She urged member states to act to ensure that the budget process provides the necessary support for her office to complete this work.
     

13. She also encouraged council members to pay “close attention to developments in Sri Lanka, and to seek credible progress in advancing reconciliation, accountability and human rights."

Report of the Special Rapporteur for Transitional Justice

The Special Rapporteur regrets the lack of substantive progress in the investigation of emblematic cases, despite initial progress.

The Government has not repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and has introduced regulations that contravene international standards.

Move to terminate military involvement in commercial activities and reduce military presence in those areas, such as the North and East.

The Government has not undertaken a systematic mapping exercise, has not documented the land occupied by the army, nor has it established a land commission. The Government has reported having released 89.26 per cent of State land and 92.22 per cent of private land and having established a scheme for compensating owners of land not released owing to national security concerns. Decisions to retain land rest with the military and national security considerations.