Time to Stop Stalling as UN Human Rights Council Approaches
Photo courtesy of OHCHR
In the run up to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) session beginning in September, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged Sri Lanka to take the opportunity to break from the past. Türk recently visited the country and met local groups and bereaved families as well as government officials. Ongoing concerns among Sri Lankans about human rights have been echoed internationally, resolutions passed and the situation monitored.
“Today, an opportunity presents itself for Sri Lanka to break from the past, with the leadership pledging a fresh direction on long-standing issues,” he said, adding that these commitments need to be translated into results.
An August 2025 report found that the government elected in 2024 “has a historic opportunity and a clear mandate from communities across Sri Lanka to implement transformative reforms and deliver truth and justice, laying the foundation for sustainable peace and “has pledged a fresh direction on several long-standing issues, including addressing some emblematic cases to deliver justice to victims, restoring the rule of law, eliminating ethnic discrimination and divisive politics.”
However “Those commitments need to translate into a coherent time-bound plan and concrete steps that demonstrate the capacity and willingness of the State to address the issues. This must include accountability for serious crimes and human rights violations committed during the war… The ongoing trends observed during the reporting period, such as threats, intimidation, and violence targeting victims and civil society actors, as well as continued serious human rights violations including arbitrary arrests and detentions under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, torture, and custodial deaths must be addressed,” the report said.
A US report on human rights in Sri Lanka in 2024 also detailed a range of violations. These included arbitrary or unlawful killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices; arbitrary arrest or detention; and serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom. Some of these took place under a previous government; and the credibility of US country reports had been damaged by apparent political interferenceunder the current leadership.
Yet a Human Rights Watch briefing on the present situation highlighted grave concerns too, claiming that “In the nearly one year since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been in office – despite pledges to uphold Sri Lanka’s human rights obligations – there has been little if any improvement in any of the key human rights issues that led to action by the Human Rights Council. Impunity for mass atrocities and grave rights violations remains absolute, while intimidation and surveillance of victims and activists in previously war-affected areas continues.”
Days after the report appeared, a photojournalist whose pictures of that visit had been widely viewed, Kanapathipillai Kumanan, was questioned for almost seven hours by counterterrorism police. UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor criticised his interrogation for “documenting Tamil community issues, peaceful protests & land rights. This inquiry targets legitimate journalism, international engagement & the protection of human rights.”
More positively, the government confirmed that the much-discredited Prevention of Terrorism Act would be scrapped, with details to be announced in early September, yet it was due to be replaced by another law with no guarantee this would protect rights. It has been pointed out that existing laws are more than adequate to tackle actual terrorism. And intriguingly, ex-president Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested for alleged misuse of public funds, which if proved might signal a further shift from impunity for members of the ruling elite, although this remains to be seen.
The High Commissioner’s report is due to be delivered on the first day of the HRC’s 60th session. Also at that session, due to run from September 8 to October 8 the UK and Canada – still members of a core group for Sri Lanka, although membership has changed – are expected to present a resolution on Sri Lanka. The government remains under pressure to do more to turn its rhetoric into reality.
Ongoing concerns and the need for change
The report recognised the human rights impact of the economic crisis, including International Monetary Fund demands, and corruption. Recommendations included “alignment of the Government’s economic policy and fiscal consolidation with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations, including by ensuring adequate social protection,” while underscoring “he need for Sri Lanka’s external creditors to
provide the Government with the fiscal space needed to realise economic, social and cultural rights and to ensure austerity measures do not undermine Sri Lanka’s ability to fulfil its human rights obligations.”
Other issues addressed included repressive legislation which remained in place; arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and deaths in custody; restrictions on and reprisals against civil society, including surveillance, intimidation and harassment of families of the disappeared and those providing them with support; ongoing land appropriation and threats to religious sites in the North and East, despite some positive developments; and continuing lack of accountability for major past abuses, getting in the way of authentic reconciliation.
According to the report, “Ensuring accountability and addressing the root causes of the conflict are indispensable to realizing the Government’s vision of national unity and creating a society free from discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity and religion. At the same time, undertaking fundamental constitutional, legal and institutional reforms, which comply with the country’s international human rights obligations, are essential to bringing about transformative changes.”
While meaningful measures by Sri Lankan authorities are much needed, in the view of the High Commissioner, international engagement remains essential. The government is urged to sign up to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, halt and reverse land seizures, release long term detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, ensure proper investigation of past wrongs, not put people facing credible allegations of human rights violations in high level positions, repeal or amend laws undermining rights, clearly instruct the police and security forces to stop mistreating people and move forward on devolution of power at various levels.
The report calls on the HRC and member states to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to move forward on rights, cooperate in investigating and prosecuting alleged perpetrators, consider other international legal options to advance accountability, explore further targeted sanctions against individuals and supporting the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to monitor and report on rights.
International pressure on the Sri Lankan government is likely to intensify if words, however positive, are not matched by deeds in demonstrating that the dignity and human worth of all in the country are respected. Even more importantly, remaining goodwill in the country itself may run out.
