The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has warned that, although Sri Lanka’s Government has pledged to address long-standing human rights concerns and advance accountability and institutional reforms, efforts to achieve truth, justice, reconciliation and meaningful reform risk losing momentum.
The assessment is contained in the OHCHR’s latest report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, which is due to be presented at the 63rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The report examines developments between October 2025 and July 2026, with particular attention to the Government’s commitments on reconciliation, accountability and human rights.
According to the report, Sri Lanka faced several significant challenges during the review period, including the impact of Cyclone Ditwah, economic pressures arising from external shocks, and the continuing effects of global conflicts.
The OHCHR noted that these developments diverted both government resources and political attention away from reform initiatives and accountability efforts.
The report acknowledges that the Government elected in late 2024 pledged to pursue a number of reforms, including strengthening efforts to combat corruption, establishing an independent public prosecutor’s office, advancing accountability for the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and other emblematic cases, and repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
However, the OHCHR noted that meaningful progress in several of these areas has yet to materialize.
The report also highlights several emblematic cases that have come to represent Sri Lanka’s prolonged struggle for accountability and justice, including:
- The disappearance of Eastern University Vice Chancellor Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath in 2006
- The murder of Parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj in 2006
- The Action Contre La Faim (ACF) aid worker massacre in 2006
- The disappearance of journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda in 2010
- Enforced disappearances
- The Chemmani-Siththupaththi mass grave
- Conflict-related sexual violence
- The 2019 Easter Sunday attacks
The report recognizes significant investigative and judicial activity in relation to the Easter Sunday attacks. These developments include the arrest of former State Intelligence Service Director Suresh Sallay, travel restrictions imposed on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and two former intelligence officers, and the convictions and sentences imposed on former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando.
Despite these developments, the OHCHR said concerns remain over due process, public access to proceedings and compliance with international fair-trial standards.
The report concludes that, although there has been some progress in several high-profile cases, victims and affected communities continue to await comprehensive truth, justice and accountability.
The OHCHR stressed that resolving these emblematic cases remains central to Sri Lanka’s broader efforts towards reconciliation, human rights and lasting institutional reform.
