Sri Lanka has urged the Human Rights High Commissioner, Volker Türk, to end the country-specific mandate in respect of Sri Lanka where national processes demonstrated progress.

Addressing the 63rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on 08 September, 2026, during the General Debate under the Agenda Item 2, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Sumith Dassanayake emphasised that no Council mandate should be regarded as indefinite.

The written update on human rights situation in Sri Lanka was presented to the Council on 08 September and the General Debate was attended by the United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner, Volker Türk.

Dassanayake emphasised that at a time when the international community is confronted with grave and urgent human rights situations, including armed conflicts, displacement, and humanitarian crises, the Council must ensure its work and resources are directed towards the most pressing global challenges.

Dassanayake also emphasised to the High Commissioner that all mandates, particularly country-specific ones, should be subject to periodic review against clearly defined objectives and measurable outcomes. He called for sunset clauses and phase-out provisions to be explicitly incorporated into country-specific resolutions where appropriate.

Dassanayake stressed that when a country demonstrates progress through national processes, dialogue, cooperation, and technical assistance, the Council should provide a credible pathway towards concluding the relevant mandate.

The Supreme Court has dismissed about 40 fundamental rights petitions filed by nearly 1,050 police officers who were overlooked for promotions and challenged the promotion of other officers to various ranks in the Sri Lanka Police Service.

The judgment was delivered on Tuesday (08) by Supreme Court Justice Mahinda Samayawardhena, with Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justice Sampath Wijeratne concurring.

The petitions challenged promotions made in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023 during the tenures of former Inspectors General of Police Pujith Jayasundara, C.D. Wickramaratne and Deshabandu Tennakoon.

The promotions under challenge included those from Police Constable to Police Sergeant, Police Sergeant to Sub-Inspector and Sub-Inspector to Inspector.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court held that the petitioners had failed to provide sufficient material to satisfy the Court that there had been irregularities in the promotion process.

The Court also held that the petitioners had failed to establish that their fundamental right to equal protection of the law, guaranteed under Article 12(1) of the Constitution, had been violated.

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the petitions (SI)

By S.K. Samaranayake

Tensions ran high yesterday (09) when shops located on the Mahaweli River reservation in the Thennekumbura area, within the Gangawata Korale Pradeshiya Sabha, were ordered to be removed.

Court officials, officers of the Mahaweli Authority and police arrived at the site to implement a court order directing the removal of the shops, prompting an angry reaction from the traders. State officials warned that, as the action was being carried out under a court order, anyone obstructing the execution of the order could be arrested for interfering with judicial duties.

The affected traders said they had been operating their businesses at the location for between 25 and 30 years, paying a monthly rent of Rs. 5,000 each to the Gangawata Korale Pradeshiya Sabha. They also said they had entered into agreements with the Mahaweli Authority, and described the sudden eviction as deeply unjust.

The traders claimed that although the court order required all the shops in the area to be demolished, a shop allegedly belonging to an NPP supporter had been spared.

An NPP member of the Gangawata Korale Pradeshiya Sabha, who arrived at the scene, was also met with strong protests from the agitated traders and members of the public.

Expressing their anger at both the Government and the visiting politician, the traders said they had already been left destitute by losses suffered during Cyclone Ditwah and that the eviction had plunged them into even greater hardship.

While saying they respected the court ruling, the traders voiced strong resentment over what they described as the selective enforcement of the law in favour of individuals linked to the ruling party. They lamented that families who had engaged in legitimate businesses and paid taxes under successive governments had now been driven onto the streets under the present administration.