In its World report for 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) an international human rights monitoring and advocacy organization has said Sri Lanka’s human rights situation has seriously deteriorated under the administration of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The HRW said that government security forces have increased intimidation and surveillance of human rights activists, victims of past abuses, lawyers, and journalists while minority Muslim and Tamil communities have faced discrimination and threats.
“The Rajapaksa administration has quickly reversed human rights gains of the previous government, making minorities more insecure, victims of past abuses fearful, and critics wary of speaking out,” Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch said.
According to her, even the limited progress on postwar reconciliation is being undone by a greater military role in governance and the government’s dismissal of its international commitments to truth and accountability.
“Concerned governments should do all they can to prevent Sri Lanka from returning to the ‘bad old days’ of rampant human rights violations,” Ganguly said. “Governments need to speak out against abuses and press for a UN Human Rights Council resolution that addresses accountability and the collection and preservation of evidence.”
In the 761-page World Report 2021 Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 100 countries. Read the full report here : HRW World Report 2021
