Human Rights Watch warns Sri Lanka’s organized crime bill could lead to serious rights violations

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that Sri Lanka’s proposed Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill could lead to arbitrary detention, torture and other serious human rights violations if passed in its current form.

In a statement issued today (October 29, 2026), the New York-based human rights organization raised concerns over the bill, which was submitted to Parliament on October 20, 2026.

Human Rights Watch said the proposed law, together with the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill submitted on October 6, contains several provisions similar to those in the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

According to the organization, these provisions could allow human rights violations to continue despite the government’s previous promises to repeal oppressive laws.

Human Rights Watch recalled that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) alliance had pledged in its 2024 election manifesto to abolish oppressive laws and protect the civil rights of people across the country.

The organization noted that the government had also promised to repeal the PTA, a commitment made by previous governments.

However, Human Rights Watch argued that both bills introduced in October repeat some of the most harmful provisions of the PTA and create separate legal procedures outside the country’s ordinary criminal justice system without sufficient safeguards.

Elaine Pearson, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, warned that the proposed organized crime law could allow suspects to be detained for long periods without adequate judicial supervision or evidence of criminal activity.

She also expressed concern that allowing confessions made to police officers to be used in court could encourage torture and other forms of mistreatment.

According to Human Rights Watch, the bill aims to combat organized crime and strengthen international law enforcement cooperation.

It is also presented as a measure to implement the 2003 United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.

However, the organization argued that the proposed legislation does not meet international standards for clear and precise laws and removes important legal protections available under Sri Lanka’s existing criminal laws.

Under the bill, a “serious crime” is defined as an offence punishable by at least four years in prison. The bill also covers several offences already addressed under other laws.

An “organised criminal group” is defined as three or more people acting together to commit one or more serious crimes for financial or other material benefit, either directly or indirectly.

Human Rights Watch raised concerns that courts could consider a person’s clothing, tattoos, hand signs, language, meetings, associations and regular visits to places used by known criminal groups when deciding whether that person belongs to an organized criminal group.

The organization warned that these provisions could allow individuals to be treated as suspects because of their associations rather than evidence of actual criminal activity.

Another major concern raised by Human Rights Watch involves the proposed detention powers.

According to the organization, the bill would allow the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security to issue detention orders for two months at a time, extending up to a maximum period of one year.

Human Rights Watch said magistrates would not have the power to cancel such detention orders.

The organization also noted that only the High Court would be permitted to grant bail, while suspects accused of serious crimes could be released on bail only under exceptional circumstances.

Human Rights Watch further warned that the bill would allow confessions made to police officers to be used as evidence in court.

The organization said similar provisions under the PTA had encouraged torture because convictions could be based on confessions obtained by police.

It pointed out that recent attempts to reform counterterrorism laws, including the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill, required confessions to be made before a magistrate instead.

However, the organization argued that the Prevention of Organised Crimes Bill would bring back the practice of accepting police-recorded confessions, increasing the risk of forced confessions, torture and other mistreatment.

The statement also raised concerns over the extensive surveillance powers proposed under the bill.

According to Human Rights Watch, police would be allowed to intercept and record communications, extract data from electronic devices and obtain information from telecommunications companies and online service providers through court orders.

The organization further warned that police could obtain certain information without a court order, including the identity of device owners or subscribers, call information and mobile tower location data from telecommunications, satellite and digital service providers.

Human Rights Watch said these powers could interfere with people’s privacy and freedom of assembly.

It also alleged that Sri Lankan law enforcement and security agencies have previously misused surveillance powers to monitor human rights defenders and families of victims of human rights violations.

The organization raised further concerns about possible restrictions on freedom of expression and media reporting.

According to Human Rights Watch, the bill would make it an offence to publish the name of a crime victim or information that could reveal the victim’s identity.

It would also introduce restrictions on media reporting of court proceedings without permission from the court.

Human Rights Watch said the bill would give police additional powers to stop and search individuals and vehicles, arrest suspects and seize items based on reasonable suspicion of a serious crime.

Police would also be permitted to enter and search premises without a warrant in certain circumstances.

The organization warned that granting such extensive powers with limited or no judicial supervision could create opportunities for abuse.

Human Rights Watch also linked the proposed legislation to Sri Lanka’s international trade commitments.

It noted that repealing the PTA is a key commitment made by Sri Lanka to the European Union under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade programme, which provides tariff-free access to the EU market for eligible products.

The organization argued that retaining provisions similar to those in the PTA through the proposed organized crime law could further weaken Sri Lanka’s compliance with its human rights commitments under the GSP+ programme.

Human Rights Watch also said the government did not appear to have carried out public consultations when preparing the bill.

The organization called on the government to withdraw the proposed legislation and conduct genuine, open and inclusive consultations before introducing a revised law.

It urged the government to ensure that any new legislation includes strong protections against arbitrary detention, torture and other forms of mistreatment, while guaranteeing proper judicial supervision and fair legal procedures in accordance with international human rights obligations.

Pearson said governments have a responsibility to combat organized crime but must do so while respecting international human rights standards.

She also called on the European Union to make clear that the proposed bill, in its current form, would not meet Sri Lanka’s obligations under the GSP+ trade programme.

Source: Human Rights Watch statement – October 29, 2026. The concerns, assessments and recommendations reported in this article are those of Human Rights Watch.