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The UN human rights office called on Sri Lanka’s creditors to provide the government with the fiscal space it needs to realize economic, social and cultural rights.
Economic policy decisions must comply with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a new report.
He added that the lasting effects of the 2022 economic crisis and subsequent austerity measures have particularly affected the poor, especially women.
A report released by the UN Human Rights Office also noted that fundamental freedoms in Sri Lanka are again under threat, highlighting new or proposed regressive laws, the weakening of democratic checks and balances, continued threats and intimidation against civil society and journalists, and a recurrence of past serious human rights violations.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk stressed the importance of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections as an opportunity for Sri Lanka to recommit to the changes demanded by the majority of its citizens, including accountability and reconciliation.
The report notes that several laws and bills proposed by the government since 2023 have granted broad powers to security forces and significantly expanded restrictions on freedom of expression, opinion, and association.
Turk noted that this trend is particularly worrying before an election.
Despite promised moratoriums, authorities continue to use the Prevention of Terrorism Act to arrest and detain individuals. The report highlights recent cases of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and deaths in custody.
Crimes continued to go unpunished and without accountability during and after the civil war, which ended in 2009. Turk urged the newly elected government to address the root causes of the conflict and undertake fundamental constitutional and institutional reforms to close accountability gaps and work towards reconciliation.
The report also describes a long history of intimidation and harassment of journalists and civil society actors, particularly those working on enforced disappearances, land disputes and environmental issues. Families of those who have been forcibly disappeared face intimidation, arrest and surveillance by security forces when they try to seek the truth or commemorate their loved ones.
Türk stressed that crimes and violations committed during and after the civil war, including the 2019 Easter bombings, must not go unpunished. He called for a thorough investigation and accountability for the perpetrators.
As the Sri Lankan government lacks the will or capacity to prosecute and punish perpetrators, the report urges the international community to adopt complementary strategies to support Sri Lanka’s pursuit of accountability, including the use of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction, targeted sanctions against credible perpetrators, and other measures consistent with international law.
（News First Network）
(Except for the title, this article was originally published by News First Network Not yet edited by SLM staff)
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