Navigating Human Rights and Sovereignty: Sri Lanka’s Message at the 58th UNHRC

The 58th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) took place from February 24th until March 4th, gathering members from around the globe. On the 25th of February, Vijitha Herath, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka, produced a speech that presented some actions taken by the new government to further the protection of human rights in the country. He addressed the economic difficulties faced by the citizens, the need for increased national unity and reconciliation, especially in the northern and eastern provinces, and finished by affirming the support of Sri Lanka for human rights processes, and cooperation with members of the United Nations “within the national legal framework” (News.lk, 2025).

The President’s commitment to honour human rights processes "within the national legal framework" is a subtle reaffirmation of Sri Lanka’s opposition to investigating human rights violations during the civil war. The OHCHR Sri Lanka Accountability Project is an initiative created by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Launched in 2021, it focuses on investigating potential human rights violations and abuses that took place during Sri Lanka’s civil war (1983–2009) and in the years that followed. Its objectives are to document the violations, bring accountability and justice for the victims, and promote transitional justice (UNHRC, 2025).

Also in the agenda for the session, the OHCHR was asked to provide an oral update on their work in Sri Lanka. Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, Director of the Global Operations Division of the OHCHR, asserted that the new Sri Lankan president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has acknowledged past ethnic divisions and pledged to address human rights issues, including corruption and justice for the 2019 Easter attacks, but that this pledge must also extend to the large scale human rights violations that took place during the civil war. The government has taken initial steps, such as appointing an expert to establish an independent prosecutor’s office. They are also urged to reform the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) with credible members to address the thousands of cases of enforced disappearances. Efforts are underway to amend oppressive laws like the Prevention of Terrorism Act, ensuring compliance with international human rights standards. However, reports of surveillance and intimidation by security agents in the north and east highlight the need for deeper security sector reforms (Sheriff, 2025).

On March 3rd, still within the context of the 58th UNHRC session, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, Himalee Arunatilaka, reiterated the position of the Sri Lankan government.

She stated that no independent country can accept an outside system that goes against its own constitution and interferes with its legal processes before it has a chance to act (Tamil Guardian, 2025). This has been the repeated argument by the Sri Lankan government; however, upon review of their legal processes, it is clear that very minimal progress has been made to provide justice for crimes committed during the war.

During Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, both sides committed war crimes, resulting in 100,000 deaths, with 40,000 killed in the final months alone. Government forces carried out torture, rape, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and indiscriminate attacks. They also bombed hospitals and makeshift health centers in the Vanni, including designated "No Fire Zones", despite these areas being meant for civilian protection. The fate of thousands who disappeared has never been revealed, with many families still fighting to get the government to disclose the truth (Ganguly, 2024).

According to a report from the OHCHR on the Accountability for Enforced Disappearances in Sri Lanka (2024), the legacy of enforced disappearances continues to haunt affected communities, with families still searching for answers decades later. Many of the disappeared were men, often the primary breadwinners, leaving thousands of women as heads of households, struggling with economic hardship, social stigma, and insecurity. Without access to justice or state support, these women face increased vulnerability to poverty, exploitation, and gender-based violence. In the final stages of the conflict, many LTTE members who surrendered to government forces disappeared, and their fate remains unknown. This has left Tamil women in the northern and eastern provinces in deep poverty, with little access to employment or resources to rebuild their lives. The lack of accountability and truth has deepened social wounds, further preventing true ethnic reconciliation and creating distrust in state institutions. It has also worsened the trauma of those who lost family members and are unable to grieve them according to their religious beliefs. To this day, activists and relatives of the missing live through intimidation and surveillance in response to their demands for justice, while thousands continue to wait for any acknowledgment of their suffering.

The OMP was created by the government in 2016 and was given broad legal powers, such as the ability to summon individuals, request court orders, search premises, and enter places of detention (prisons, army camps, etc.) without a warrant. Even with those powers, the office has allegedly only managed to find 16 persons alive and three deceased. They have also not taken serious action to investigate the numerous mass graves discovered around the country, many of which are believed to contain the remains of those who disappeared during the war. The report describes the OMP as having taken a “case management approach,” meaning they focus on registering the disappearances to be able to issue a certificate of death or absence and offering compensation instead of providing real information (OHCHR, 2024).

The victims of the conflict have been waiting for years to see justice, but little has changed. Government representatives, like those at the 58th UNHRC session, may acknowledge the need for action, but words mean nothing without follow-through. The Sri Lankan government needs to stop making empty promises and start delivering real justice: investigating crimes, holding perpetrators accountable, and supporting the families who are still suffering. The call for action goes further than the few human rights violations mentioned here; this article just scrapes the surface of the calls for justice that family members, local organizations, and the international community have been making since the start of the war. All rights must be protected, and truth and justice must be delivered. Without this, the country cannot move forward, and the wounds of the past will never heal.

Sources

1. Ganguly, M. (2024). 15 Years Since Sri Lanka’s Conflict Ended, No Justice for War Crimes. Human Rights Watch. Taken from
2. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/05/14/15-years-sri-lankas-conflict-ended-no-justice-war-crimes
3. News.lk - The government official news portal. (2025). Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath Addresses 58th UNHRC Session. Taken from
4. https://www.news.lk/news/foreign/foreign-minister-vijitha-herath-addresses-58th-unhrc-session
5. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2024). Accountability for Enforced Disappearances in Sri Lanka. Taken from
6. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/accountability-enforced-disappearances-sri-lanka-o hchr-report
7. Sheriff, M.K. [UN Human Rights Council]. (2025, 3 March). UN Human Rights Office gives an update on Sri Lanka to the Human Rights Council [Online Video]. Taken from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bM2ZmXzBe0
8. Tamil Guardian. (2025). Sri Lanka rejects UN resolutions on accountability for war crimes - again. Tamil Guardian. Taken from
9. https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/sri-lankas-rejects-un-resolutions-accountability-war-crimes-again
10. United Nations Human Rights Council. (2021). OHCHR Sri Lanka accountability project. Taken from https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/sri-lanka-accountability/index

Photo: An unexploded 122mm projectile of multiple rocket launcher of BM-21 Grad stuck into muddy land in Vaharai of Batticaloa, Sri Lanka during the civil war. 2007