UN human rights report urges robust accountability and institutional reforms in Sri Lanka

A UN Human Rights report calls on the Sri Lankan Government to build on the steps it has taken to bolster accountability for human rights violations and advance reconciliation and healing, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The United Nations Human Rights Council is set to receive the latest report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka on 7 September.

The report, which covers the period between October 2025 and July 2026, notes the steps taken to tackle corruption, as well as the high-profile arrests and investigations in connection with political killings, enforced disappearances and the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

This was also a period during which Sri Lanka found itself grappling with the challenges caused by Cyclone Ditwah and the global spike in energy prices, the statement said.

Despite its promise of legal and institutional reforms, however, the Government continues to apply the repressive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), resulting in arbitrary arrests and prolonged detentions without charge, the report states. Civil society actors, activists and journalists are subjected to state surveillance, and tensions over land and religious sites continue to simmer.

“This Government still has an opportunity to turn the tide on decades of abuse of executive power, repressive laws and custodial violence, and entrenched impunity,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. “While it is encouraging that the Sri Lankan authorities have taken action to address corruption cases and some crimes linked to the post-war period, more needs to be done to end the long legacy of impunity in the country.”

The report highlights continued cases of torture and deaths in custody. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka documented 602 cases of torture and ill-treatment in 2025 and 138 cases as of April 2026. It also reported receiving 18 cases of deaths in custody last year and another three by April this year. In one such case, a 40-year-old inmate detained for a minor drug-related offence died at Welikada Prison in Colombo on 3 May allegedly from severe beatings.

The report also highlights the violent riots at Negombo prison in July, which resulted in at least 32 deaths, underscoring the urgent need for prison reform to address systemic issues, including severe overcrowding.

The UN Human Rights Office also received at least 16 allegations of surveillance against civil society actors, activists and journalists, information “indicating a clear and continuing pattern of state surveillance, intimidation and reprisals by military and intelligence officials, including from the Criminal Investigations Department or the Terrorism Investigation Division”, says the report.

“Individuals are repeatedly questioned about their travels, especially to Geneva and engagement with UN human rights processes, as well as their organisational affiliations, funding sources, and participation in protests or commemorative events,” the report states.

While the Government has continued to denounce racism and promote national unity, wider efforts to ensure truth and justice risk being stalled and the momentum for transformative change being lost, warns the report.

Failures to effectively investigate and prosecute crimes under international law allegedly committed during the armed conflict persist, the statement said.

“It is crucial that there is decisive and meaningful action toward accountability for crimes and violations by all parties during the more than two-decade armed conflict,” High Commissioner Türk said.

The UN Human Rights Chief noted the recent decision by the Attorney-General to indict former Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, Sivanesathurai Chandrakathan, also known as Pillayan, and three others in connection with the abduction and murder of former Eastern University Vice Chancellor Professor Subramanian Ravindranath in 2006.

“It is, however, regrettable that many other serious emblematic cases remain stalled for years, including the killing of 17 Action Contre La Faim aid workers in Muttur 20 years ago,” he said, calling for meaningful steps to resolve such delays.

The High Commissioner urged Sri Lanka to redouble its reconciliation and accountability efforts. He called for a moratorium on the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, pending its repeal, as well as the release of long-term detainees held under it.

Türk also called for all individuals credibly accused of human rights violations to be excluded from senior positions in government, the security sector, or diplomatic service, until such allegations are genuinely addressed and resolved.

He urged the Government to support victims’ memorialization initiatives, and the release of military-occupied lands, it added.

Note: Due to legal constraints, the Ada Derana Editorial team has taken a decision to disable comments on all articles concerning ongoing court procedures.

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