News
UN Regional Director launches SL’s first Country Gender Equality Profile during official visit
UN Women Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Christine Arab, concluded a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka (25–26 March), emphasising that closing gender gaps in labour force participation, access to economic opportunities and decision-making are critical to the country’s inclusive recovery. She also launched the Sri Lanka Country Gender Equality Profile (CGEP), a comprehensive analysis designed to inform evidence-based policymaking and strategic investments.
The CGEP notes that despite achieving high human development levels and ranking first in South Asia by 2022, Sri Lanka has continued to regress on gender equality markers, falling sharply from 16th place in the Global Gender Gap Index in 2010 to 130th by 2025 – a decline of over 100 places in just 15 years.
The publication features detailed gender statistics on women’s economic and political participation, education, health and morbidity, poverty and social protection, safety and security, as well as the gendered impacts of climate change and disasters. It also includes analysis of the country’s legal and institutional frameworks, acknowledging positive judicial and administrative reforms, while observing that persistent and layered inequalities and discriminatory social norms continue to undermine the rights of many women across the country. The profile concludes with recommendations for gender-transformative governance.
During her visit, Arab held a high-level discussion with the Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj, focusing on strengthening collaboration on policy reform, women’s economic empowerment, and efforts to end violence against women and girls.
“Gender equality is fundamental to Sri Lanka’s inclusive recovery and long-term resilience,” said Arab. “Data, strong institutions and meaningful partnerships are essential to ensuring that women and girls can fully contribute to and benefit from the country’s development.”
She also met with the High Commissioners of Australia and Canada, and their teams, and with the Embassy of Japan in Sri Lanka to reinforce partnerships supporting inclusive development and women’s leadership. Arab met members of Sri Lanka’s National Commission on Women (NCW) underscoring the importance of community-driven change and women’s voices in shaping policy.
Engagement with civil society organizations was another key component of the visit. Speaking during the discussion, Samitha Sugathimala, Programme Director, Foundation for Innovative Social Development (FISD), emphasized that “the shrinking space for civil society remains a critical challenge, particularly for organizations working on gender equality and social justice. In such contexts, collective action among civil society actors is not just important but essential to resist pushback, amplify marginalized voices and sustain community-driven change.”
In all her engagements, Arab reiterated the importance of strengthening institutions, investing in data and fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships to accelerate progress on gender equality.
The keynote address by Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and former Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, provided an in-depth analysis of the state of gender equality in Sri Lanka. It grounded these priorities in the country’s lived realities and highlighted persistent structural challenges.
A panel discussion, moderated by Arab, brought together current and former members of independent commissions to collectively explore the structural and institutional barriers that continue to impede progress, examine gaps in accountability and rights protection, and identify priority reforms required to drive meaningful, gender responsive governance in the final stretch towards 2030.
Panelist Dr. Padma Gunaratne, Member, NCW (2025–present) and Consultant Neurologist, stated that “Sri Lanka stands at a critical moment to strengthen its gender governance architecture. In this regard, it is essential to ensure that the National Commission on Women is both independent and well-resourced, while also clarifying and reinforcing the mandates of key institutions.”
Arab also appeared in an exclusive national television interview on Face to Face, where she highlighted the economic and social imperative of advancing women’s empowerment, noting that “investing in women is not only a matter of rights, but a driver of economic growth and sustainable development for Sri Lanka.”
UN Women remains committed to working alongside the Government of Sri Lanka, development partners and civil society to advance policies and programmes that promote equal rights, leadership opportunities, and economic participation for women and girls across the country.
The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.
The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.
Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.
Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.
Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.
The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.
Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.
Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.
Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.
The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.
Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.
The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.
The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.
SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.
Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.
The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.
GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.
Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.
(SF)
Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation
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