Limited government action to punish offenders; U.S. State Department report

15-Aug-2025

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The U.S. State Department’s report points out that although various human rights violations were recorded in Sri Lanka last year, the government took only very limited action to identify and punish officials involved in those violations.

The U.S. State Department annually publishes a comprehensive report containing extensive information on the human rights situation of each country globally. According to the report released on Sri Lanka’s human rights situation in 2024, the key points are as follows:
Many suspects detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act were released last year. Similarly, the Police Department issued appropriate guidelines regarding respecting the rights of the LGBTQ community and stopping the arrest of transgender people.
At the same time, last year saw incidents of extrajudicial and unlawful killings, torture, cruel and inhuman punishments by the government, dangerous and inadequate prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and detention, concerns over judicial independence, unnecessary intrusions into personal privacy, suppression of freedom of expression, restrictions on media freedom, obstacles to peaceful assembly, and interference with the activities of civil society organisations.
In particular, there were actions that incited violence targeting Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Tamils.
Nevertheless, the report states that the government took only very limited action to identify and punish officials involved in human rights violations.