International human rights organisations have warned the United Nations Human Rights Council that Sri Lanka continues to evade accountability for serious violations of international law, urging the Council to appoint a dedicated Special Rapporteur for Sri Lanka that will ensure “measurable progress” towards justice.
The warning was delivered during the 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 2 March 2026, in a joint oral statement by Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute.
The statement was delivered by Harini Sivalingam during the Council’s general debate under Item 2, which addresses the annual report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Addressing the Council, the organisations highlighted what they described as the longstanding failure of successive Sri Lankan governments to ensure accountability for violations committed during decades of conflict and repression.
“Lawyers’ Right Watch Canada and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute have for years witnessed statements before this Council regarding the persistent lack of accountability and justice in Sri Lanka. Resolution after resolution has been adopted, only to be consistently disregarded by the Sri Lankan government. The pattern is clear: commitments are made in Geneva, but impunity continues at home.”
Sri Lanka has faced repeated scrutiny at the Human Rights Council over allegations of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious abuses committed during the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009 and throughout the decades-long war.
Despite numerous resolutions adopted by the Council calling for accountability and institutional reform, international rights groups have repeatedly criticised Sri Lankan authorities for failing to implement meaningful investigations or prosecutions.
The organisations noted that the current Sri Lankan administration came to power promising reform, transparency and accountability, but warned that tangible progress has yet to materialise.
“The current government was elected on promises of reform, transparency, and meaningful accountability. However, more than a year into its mandate, we have seen no measurable progress toward those goals. This is no longer a new administration entitled to the benefit of time. Victims and survivors cannot wait indefinitely.”
The statement stressed that the international community must move beyond symbolic resolutions and take concrete steps to address entrenched impunity.
“It is time to move beyond declaratory resolutions and take concrete actions to ensure accountability for documented violations of international law and decades of entrenched impunity – without which lasting stability will remain unattainable.”
The organisations called on the Human Rights Council to appoint a dedicated Special Rapporteur for Sri Lanka to monitor progress on justice and institutional reform.
“We call on this Council to appoint a dedicated Special Rapporteur for Sri Lanka with a robust mandate to monitor, report, and advance measurable progress toward justice and institutional reform, ensuring that the aspirations and rights of Tamil and minority communities are meaningfully addressed.”
They also urged UN member states to fulfil their financial obligations to the organisation in order to support the work of international accountability mechanisms.
“We also urge all Member States in arrears to promptly fulfill their financial obligations to the United Nations to ensure the vital work of this Council and other UN mechanisms can be sustained.”
Calls for stronger international mechanisms have grown in recent years as many victims’ groups, particularly from the Tamil homeland, continue to seek justice for atrocities committed during the war and the widespread use of enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings.
Human rights advocates have repeatedly argued that domestic processes in Sri Lanka have failed to deliver accountability, reinforcing demands for sustained international involvement and independent investigative mechanisms.