President Dissanayake faces pressure to tackle Sri Lanka’s human rights crisis

The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, which assumed office on September 23, 2024, has pledged to address longstanding human rights issues that have repeatedly plunged Sri Lanka into crises, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated in its World Report 2025.

Dissanayake has promised to introduce more equitable economic policies and repeal the notoriously abusive Prevention of Terrorism Act. However, he has not supported accountability for widespread rights violations during Sri Lanka’s 1983–2009 civil war between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the report noted.

For the 546-page World Report, now in its 35th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In much of the world, Executive Director Tirana Hassan writes in her introductory essay, governments cracked down on and wrongfully arrested political opponents, activists, and journalists.

Armed groups and government forces unlawfully killed civilians, displaced many from their homes, and obstructed access to humanitarian aid. In many of the more than 70 national elections in 2024, authoritarian leaders gained ground through discriminatory rhetoric and policies.

“Sri Lanka’s multiple crises are connected by entrenched impunity for rights violations, discrimination against minority communities, and laws and institutions that seek to silence critics,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.

“President Dissanayake has an opportunity to make real progress on rights if he fulfills his campaign promises. However, he also needs to address the legacy of past conflicts and ongoing abuses against Tamils, Muslims, and others, about which he has been troublingly silent.”

• While an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout helped mitigate the immediate crisis following Sri Lanka’s default on its foreign debt in 2022, the United Nations estimated that a quarter of households experienced food insecurity in 2024.
• Policies pursued by the outgoing administration of President Ranil Wickremesinghe under the IMF program largely shifted the burden of recovery onto low-income people. The Dissanayake government has pledged to combat corruption and create more equitable economic policies.
• Police and other security agencies harassed and threatened activists and human rights defenders with impunity throughout 2024, particularly in predominantly Tamil areas in the north and east. These included undue restrictions and interference in the financing of civil society organizations.
• In May, the UN human rights office issued a report urging the international community to undertake prosecutions and other accountability measures to address thousands of unresolved cases of enforced disappearance over decades during the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) uprisings and the LTTE conflict. The UN Human Rights Council extended its mandate to monitor human rights violations and collect evidence of crimes committed during the civil war.

President Dissanayake should begin addressing Sri Lanka’s many human rights challenges by fulfilling and building upon the promises he made during his party’s election campaigns.