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Continued UNHRC scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s human rights record crucial: HRW

Published

4 years ago

2021/09/12

The United Nations Human Rights Council should maintain its rigorous scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s worsening human rights situation and press for genuine improvements, Human Rights Watch said on Friday.

They further said: “At the Council’s upcoming session, which begins on September 13, 2021, UN member countries should express their alarm about the ongoing abuses by the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the weakening of independent governmental institutions, civilian governance, and the rule of law. These countries should demonstrate their willingness to press the Sri Lankan government to meet its international human rights obligations,” they said.

“Since Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office in 2019, the limited progress Sri Lanka had made in addressing past atrocities and ending abuses has been disastrously reversed,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“Continued international attention and pressure can help reduce the risks faced by minority communities, activists, and journalists, who live in heightened fear of the authorities”.

“Earlier in 2021, the Human Rights Council adopted an important resolution, 46/1, to advance accountability for past rights violations and war crimes committed in Sri Lanka. The resolution also mandated regular reporting by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. In 2020, the Rajapaksa administration had renounced the previous administration’s commitments to the Human Rights Council to provide justice and end abuses.”

“The administration is using its security and intelligence agencies to check and intimidate the families of abuse victims and others who are seeking to uphold human rights. When we talk to the families of the ‘disappeared,’they say they can be arrested at any time,” a human rights defender in northern Sri Lanka told Human Rights Watch. “That they can arrest you for anything.”

“The authorities are using arrests and threats issued under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to silence calls for justice in the Tamil majority North and East, and to arbitrarily detain Muslims in counter-terrorism operations. In August, Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickramaratne said that 311 people were in custody for the deadly 2019 Easter bombings, many of them for over two years. However, no one has yet been brought to trial in connection with the attacks,” Human Rights Watch said.

“President Rajapaksa issued an ordinance under the PTA this year that allows for two years in detention without trial for the “rehabilitation” of people accused of causing “disharmony,” and another that creates a new PTA detention center at a notorious police facility in Colombo that would permit even more abuse under the terrorism law. These actions contradict the government’s claim to foreign diplomats that it was preparing to reform the PTA, which has been used to facilitate the arbitrary detention and torture of prisoners since its introduction in 1979.

Under the PTA, a prisoner can be held for up to 18 months without being produced in court. A newly formed “advisory board” of three presidential appointees to review pretrial detention orders under this law offers no credible legal protection against abuses”, Human Rights Watch said.

“The police Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) has been used to stifle civil society. They regularly visit the NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) and talk about the financial reports and staff lists and phone numbers,” an activist in the east, who described the visits as a method of surveillance and intimidation, told Human Rights Watch. “The TID visits NGOs regularly. It’s kind of routine.”

“An amendment to the constitution in 2020 undermined the independence of the judiciary by empowering the president to appoint senior judges. The amendment also undercut the independence of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the status of which is now under review by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. Recent appointments to the Office of Missing Persons, which is supposed to discover what happened to thousands of victims of enforced disappearance over several decades, have further undermined its credibility. The appointees include a former Inspector General of Police accused of destroying evidence in the murder of a journalist.

A presidential commission established in January 2020 to examine supposed cases of “political victimization” has recommended halting investigations or prosecutions in the few cases of serious abuses where there had been limited progress, and instead opening investigations against police investigators for allegedly falsifying evidence.” Human Rights Watch said.

“In August 2021, the Attorney General dropped charges against a former commander of the Navy implicated in the enforced disappearance of 11 men and boys between 2008 and 2009. Senior Superintendent of Police Shani Abeysekera, who led that and other major human rights investigations, received death threats and was imprisoned for a year and half, until the Court of Appeal found that the case against him was “fabricated.” Meanwhile, the government has sought to persuade diplomats at the Human Rights Council that an accountability process still exists, by referring to a separate presidential commission established by President Rajapaksa in January with a mandate to reexamine the reports of the numerous previous domestic commissions “to ascertain whether there have been violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” and whether previous recommendations had been implemented, ” Human Rights Watch said.

“On August 31, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry circulated a document to foreign diplomats in which the government claims, without basis, to have made “continued and tangible progress … in addressing issues related to achieving peace, reconciliation, and development, including accountability, within the domestic legal framework of Sri Lanka.”

They further said: “In fact, the government’s approach has been to emphasize “compensation” to victims over justice and accountability, as Justice Minister Ali Sabry said at an event organized by the Office of Missing Persons on August 31. The Foreign Ministry claims that these payments – about US$500 each in cases in which the victim died – will help bring “closure” and “reconciliation.”

“Far from promoting reconciliation, the government has repeatedly adopted policies that alienate Sri Lanka’s beleaguered minority communities. Tamils and Muslims in the North and East have complained of a concerted government policy to seize land belonging to members of their communities on various pretexts, including by a presidential task force on archaeology composed of Buddhist monks and members of the security forces.

Foreign governments should take firm and coordinated action to press the Sri Lankan government to reverse course”, Human Rights Watch said.

“The European Union should insist that Sri Lanka complies with its human rights obligations to maintain tariff free market access under GSP+, as should the United Kingdom under its similar program. Donor governments and multilateral agencies, such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, should immediately withhold support for Sri Lankan security forces until they take steps to halt and address violations, in compliance with UN due diligence standards.”

“Governments should also consider imposing targeted sanctions on senior figures implicated in grave abuses, and pursue prosecutions under universal jurisdiction, as recommended by the UN human rights chief, Michele Bachelet, earlier this year.”

“No one should be in any doubt that Sri Lanka’s human rights situation is deeply alarming and getting worse,” said. “UN member states should recognize that the government is sensitive to international pressure, and make the protection of human rights in Sri Lanka their priority,” Ganguly said.

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Level III landslide warnings issued to the Districts of Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala and Matale extended till 1600 hrs on Monday [08]

Published

17 mins ago

2025/12/7

Priyan

The Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has extended the RED landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala and Matale until 1600hrs on Monday [8th December 2025].

Accordingly,
LEVEL III RED warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Division and surrounding areas of Pathadumbara, Pathahewaheta, Harispattuwa, Doluwa, Thumpane, Poojapitiya, Udunuwara, Gangawata Korale, Akurana, Minipe, Udapalatha, Hatharaliyadda, Kundasale, Panvila, Medadumbara, Ududumbara, Deltota, Pasbage Korale, Yatinuwara and Ganga Ihala Korale in the Kandy district, Bulathkohupitiya, Mawanella, Aranayaka, Galigamuwa, Warakapola, Kegalle, Yatiyanthota, and Rambukkana in the Kegalle district, Rideegama, Alawwa, Mawathagama, Mallawapitiya and Polgahawela in the Kurunegala district, and Rattota, Wilgamuwa, Laggala Pallegama, Ambanganga Korale, Ukuwela, Matale, Naula, Pallepola and Yatawatta in the Matale district.

LEVEL II AMBER warnings issued to the Divisional Secretaries Division and surrounding areas of Uva Paranagama, Badulla, Kandeketiya, Bandarawela, Soranathota, Hali_Ela, Meegahakivula, Ella, Welimada, Haputhale, Lunugala, Haldummulla and Passara in the Badulla district, Dehiowita, Ruwanwella, and Deraniyagala in the Kegalle district, Narammala in the Kurunegala district, Thalawakele, Ambagamuwa Korale, Norwood, Kothmale East, Kothmale West and Nuwara Eliya, Hanguranketha, Nildandahinna, Walapane, amd Mathurata in the Nuwara Eliya district and Godakawela, Kahawaththa and Kolonna in the Ratnapura district have also been extended.

LEVEL I YELLOW warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Division and surrounding areas of Elpitiya and Yakkalamulla in the Galle district, Mirigama, Divulapitiya and Attanagalla in the Gampaha district, Bibile and Medagama inthe Monaragala district, and Nivithigala, Kaltota, Pelmadulla, Elapatha, Ayagama, Kuruwita, Kalawana, Imbulpe, Eheliyagoda, Kiriella, Balangoda, Openayake and Ratnapura in the Ratnapura district

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A mechanism that goes beyond the normal state apparatus is needed to restore public life – President

Published

4 hours ago

2025/12/7

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised that a unified operational mechanism, which goes beyond the normal state administration, is required to restore public life after a disaster.

The President stated this while participating in the Kandy District Coordinating Committee meeting held at the Kandy District Secretariat on Saturday (06).morning

During the meeting, the President separately reviewed the progress of the programmes underway to restore essential infrastructure in the district, including the roadways, electricity, water and fuel supply, irrigation systems and communication facilities.

The President instructed officials to utilise the allocated provisions for the next 25 days to complete road clearing activities swiftly, until the permanent reconstruction of roads is completed.

The President also instructed that water supply in the district be fully restored within three days. Until then, the water requirements of the public should be met through bowsers and such activities must be carried out as an emergency measure beyond the usual procedure, with technical support from the Tri-Forces.

Further, he instructed that the cleaning of household wells be carried out under the coordination of Divisional Secretariats and that electricity supply in the district be restored by 31 December through temporary repairs, while major reconstruction work will be carried into the second phase.

The President pointed out the need to identify arable lands and give priority to cultivation. He instructed that cultivable paddy fields be identified urgently and supplied with the required irrigation water and highlighted the importance of coordinated action by the Department of Irrigation, Provincial Irrigation Department and the Department of Agrarian Development.

He also instructed officials to expedite the payment of the Rs. 200,000 compensation allocated to identified farmers and fields and to submit a report on the extent of vegetable cultivation affected in the district within two weeks. Accordingly, Rs. 150,000 per hectare will be paid as compensation to the affected vegetable farmers and necessary amendments will be made to provide the same compensation for losses incurred in banana cultivation.

The impact on the livestock sector due to the disaster was also broadly discussed. The President highlighted the need to maintain updated data regarding the number of farms and livestock.

He explained the need to restart damaged livestock farms swiftly, to restore income sources for the farmers and to meet the country’s food needs, including milk, poultry and eggs.

Discussions were also held regarding restoring fuel supply in the district. Due to road blockage, fuel supply has been disrupted in Pussellawa and Meetalawa. The President instructed that, through coordination between the Road Development Authority, the Tri-Forces and the Police, fuel be supplied to these areas by Saturday [06] evening.

The resumption of schools in the Kandy District was also discussed. The President instructed officials to minimise delays in reopening schools to ensure that examinations are held as scheduled.

The President also examined in detail the steps taken to restore the district’s health services, railways and communication facilities.

Discussions were held regarding housing damage and the resettlement of affected people. The roles of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau and the required staffing needs were considered.

The President stated that state-owned lands in adjacent areas will be identified and presented for resettlement activities and necessary interventions will be made to release such lands through discussions with relevant institutions. He emphasised that the government’s objective is to resettle people safely and continuous assessment must be carried out to ensure that compensation provided for destroyed and partly damaged houses is used properly for reconstruction.

As all compensation payments will be made under the 2025 Budget, the President stressed the need to complete all payments before 31 December, to avoid a burden on the 2026 Budget. He said the dedication of all state officials is essential to successfully implement the programmes initiated to restore public life.

Attention was drawn to the garbage disposal problem in Gampola. As a long-term solution, the President instructed that, until the relevant Mahaweli land is released, land belonging to the Ceylon Electricity Board be temporarily allocated for the purpose.

Attention was also paid to the damage caused to state institutions due to the disaster situation.

While noting that natural disasters such as floods, storms and landslides cannot be prevented, the President emphasised that the loss of lives and property can be minimised. He stated that a proper study of the Central Highlands is needed and a long-term plan must be prepared to restore the eroding ecological system.

He further highlighted the need to enforce the powers of local authorities to prevent similar disasters in the future, stating that no room should be given for illegal constructions hereafter. He also noted that Ceylon Electricity Board should not provide electricity to such unauthorised locations.

The President stated that although some expected it would take a long time for the country to recover after the disaster, the government has already been able to restore public life to normalcy within a very short period. He added that by working together for a little longer, the desired goals can be achieved.

The President expressed special appreciation for the dedication shown by state officials and the Tri-Forces in carrying out these tasks.

Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lal Kantha, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena, Deputy Minister of Health Hansaka Wijemuni, Members of Parliament Jagath Manuwarana and Thanura Dissanayake, as well as Central Province Governor Professor Sarath Abeykoon, Chief Secretary G.H.M.A. Premasinha, Kandy District Secretary Indika Udawatta and officials representing all line agencies including the Road Development Authority, Ceylon Electricity Board and the Irrigation Department attended the occasion.

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President calls on the Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiri chapter

Published

5 hours ago

2025/12/7

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Saturday (06) morning visited the Asgiri Maha Viharaya and paid respects to the Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiri Chapter, Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera, from whom he received blessings.

The President briefed the Mahanayake Thera on the government’s programmes to provide relief to the people affected by the prevailing disaster situation and engaged in a brief discussion with him.

Thereafter, the President called on the Anunayake Thera of the Asgiri Chapter, Most Venerable Narampanawae Ananda Anunayake Thera and also held a brief discussion with him.