ANALYSIS REPORT 2nd Meeting – 60th Session of the Human Rights Council Date: 8 September 2025

ANALYSIS REPORT

2nd Meeting – 60th Session of the Human Rights Council

Date: 8 September 2025

As the Human Rights Council convened for its 60th session, the 2nd meeting brought together a diverse array of voices from civil society and international advocacy groups to address the persistent challenges facing post-war Sri Lanka. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the discussions, highlighting the evolving concerns around governance, accountability, and the protection of human rights. By examining key positions and recommendations from participating NGOs, the analysis seeks to illuminate the global response to ongoing violations and the urgent calls for strengthened international oversight.

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Executive Summary
Civil society organizations, including Tamil diaspora groups and international NGOs, voiced strong concerns over Sri Lanka’s post-war governance, lack of accountability, and ongoing human rights violations. Advocacy has evolved to include gender-based violence, environmental justice, and public health, with increasing calls for international legal action and sustained UN oversight.

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Participating NGOs & Core Positions

NGO	Focus Area	Summary of Statement
Human Rights Watch	Accountability	Called for robust international mechanisms due to Sri Lanka’s failure to prosecute war crimes.
Association Culturelle Des Tamouls En France	Tamil Rights	Highlighted systemic marginalization and urged global action on war crimes.
Minority Rights Group	Minority Protection	Advocated for justice in cases of enforced disappearances and land dispossession.
International Commission of Jurists	Legal Reform	Criticized stalled transitional justice and recommended international legal avenues.
Global Sri Lankan Forum UK	Sovereignty	Defended Sri Lanka’s domestic efforts and opposed external interference.
PEARL	Militarization	Documented continued military presence and surveillance in Tamil regions.
Harm Reduction International	Drug Policy	Called for rights-based reforms in drug enforcement and public health.
Franciscans International	Religious Freedom	Raised concerns about discrimination against minority faiths.
African Green Foundation International	Environmental Justice	Linked ecological degradation to human rights violations.
Association Culture Femmes	Gender-Based Violence	Urged stronger protections for women, especially in post-conflict zones.

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Timeline: Evolution of NGO Advocacy (2015–2025)

Year	Focus	Shift in Advocacy
2015	War crimes & transitional justice	Strong support for OISL report; demand for international investigations.
2016–2018	Domestic mechanisms	Cautious optimism; calls for hybrid courts.
2019–2020	Ethno-religious violence	Increased concern over civic space and rollback of commitments.
2021–2022	Militarization & land rights	Push for sanctions and UN oversight.
2023–2024	Gender & disappearances	Intersectional framing gains traction.
2025	Environment & drug policy	Expanded scope; strategic coalition-based advocacy.

Key Shifts in Strategy

• From Reactive to Strategic: NGOs now use legal framing and joint statements to amplify impact.
• Intersectionality: Advocacy integrates gender, environmental, and health dimensions.
• Tone Shift: Unified skepticism toward Sri Lanka’s domestic efforts; calls for international action.

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Final Remarks by High Commissioner Volker Türk

“Genuine transitional justice, inclusive governance, and continued Human Rights Council engagement are essential to ensure accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.”

Speaker-Specific Summary: 

WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO BELOW 

Ms. Nisanthi Peiris- ACTF Advocacy on Sri Lanka

This video highlights the voices of Tamil women and diaspora advocates who continue to seek justice for war-related atrocities and enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka. While the speaker’s name from ACTF is not explicitly listed, the themes and tone align closely with ACTF’s known advocacy during the Human Rights Council sessions.

🧾 Key Themes from the Video:

• Justice Delayed: Tamil women speak of waiting over 16 years for answers about missing loved ones, particularly those who disappeared during the final stages of the war.

• Diaspora Solidarity: ACTF amplifies these voices in international forums, including the UNHRC, calling for global accountability and recognition of Tamil suffering.

• Critique of Domestic Mechanisms: The video underscores the failure of Sri Lanka’s internal justice systems to deliver truth or reparations, echoing ACTF’s calls for international legal action.

🗣️ Sample Quote from the Video:

“Nous avons attendu trop longtemps. Nos enfants ont disparu, et personne ne nous a donné de réponses.” (“We have waited too long. Our children disappeared, and no one has given us answers.”)

This quote reflects the emotional and political urgency ACTF brings to the Human Rights Council, especially during the 60th Session’s interactive dialogue on Sri Lanka.

Remarks to the Interactive Dialogue on the OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka

Geneva, 8 September 2025

Ms. Nisanthi Peiris- ACTF Advocacy on Sri Lanka

Mr. President, Excellencies,

Sri Lanka today has an historic opportunity to heal from the cycles of violence and impunity that have dominated for decades. The Government has a clear mandate from across the nation for transformative reforms, accountability, truth and justice. During my recent visit, the country’s leadership pledged a fresh direction on long-standing issues. It is crucial for this approach to be translated into a coherent, time-bound plan for concrete action.  The report I am presenting today sets out key areas for focus, including delivering accountability and justice; fundamental legal and institutional reforms; and eliminating the discrimination and division that have poisoned politics for generations.

           First and foremost, my report calls for decisive action by the Government on justice and accountability, which are essential to forging a future of healing, reconciliation and sustainable peace. I welcome the Government’s pledge to take action on major, longstanding issues, including strengthening the rule of law and ending ethnic discrimination and the politics of division. During my visit, I witnessed the continued suffering of victims of human rights violations and abuses. At a mass grave site at Chemmani, I met a family who were searching for and grieving the loss of a loved one. A woman from a southern province told me that after thirty years, she is still looking for her husband. Independent, transparent and credible investigations are critical to restoring trust.  My report notes that conflict-related sexual violence remains deeply stigmatized, and many survivors feel completely abandoned. Impunity can be a second form of violence that perpetuates cycles of harm.  The demands of victims and survivors must be addressed. Their voices must guide the Government’s policies on accountability, truth, justice and reparation. This calls for a formal acknowledgment of violations and abuses, including during the civil war. Victims and survivors need the State and its security forces to accept responsibility and recognize the lasting impact of violations and crimes committed by them, alongside those committed by non-state armed groups such as the LTTE. There must be a shared sense of the facts, and a shared conviction that justice is being served. I welcome the President’s statements in this regard and the increased space for memorialisation by victims.

           

Second, there is an urgent need for Sri Lanka to undertake deep constitutional, legal and institutional reforms. This is crucial to ensuring that the tragedies of the past can never be repeated. I welcome the Government’s initiative to establish an independent Public Prosecution Office with independent investigators. It is important for civil society organizations to be included in this process. My report recommends setting up a dedicated judicial mechanism with an independent special counsel, to look into violations of international human rights and humanitarian law over previous decades. I urge immediate and sustained action to address deaths in custody and torture, which remain systemic issues. And I strongly encourage legislative reform in relation to counterterrorism and civic space. Despite the Government’s commitment to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, arbitrary arrests and detentions under the law continue.  I urge the Government to impose an immediate moratorium on the use of this Act.

My report also calls for the amendment or repeal of other laws, or proposed laws, that restrict fundamental civil and political rights. These include the Online Safety Act, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act, the draft NGO Bill, and the draft Personal Data Protection Act. Despite an increasingly open civic space, my report describes ongoing, persistent patterns of intimidation and harassment by security agencies of human rights defenders, victims’ groups and independent journalists. People working on accountability for enforced disappearances, and those working on land disputes and environmental issues, are particular targets. This underlines the need to change the mindset and practice of security agencies. There is an urgent need for comprehensive security sector reform, including the demilitarization of the north and east; the return of land; and the devolution of power to all levels of governance.

           

            Mr. President, third, I welcome the new Government’s declared commitment to economic and social justice. My report notes that many Sri Lankans are enduring extreme hardship, after the worst economic crisis in living memory. Both the poverty rate and food prices have almost doubled in the past five years; malnutrition and childhood stunting have increased by almost a third. Support for the Malaiyahar Tamil community needs to be a priority.  Sri Lanka’s debt situation remains concerning. This year’s budget allocated almost 60 percent of revenue to interest payments, which are expected to remain high for the next decade. The imposition of new tariffs by the United States will also have a serious impact on the clothing sector – a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s economy. My report welcomes the Government’s efforts to strengthen the social safety net, and to tackle corruption and economic mismanagement. I hope this wave of change can be the basis for a new social contract and a transition towards a human rights economy, in which all financial and budgeting decisions take the protection of human rights into account.  I also urge external creditors to provide Sri Lanka with the fiscal space it needs to invest in its people and their economic, social and cultural rights.

                       Mr. President, International engagement, through my Office, this Council and the human rights mechanisms, can play an important part in the change Sri Lanka so desperately needs.  My Office stands ready to assist Sri Lanka on this journey. One example of our work, mandated by the Council, is the Sri Lanka accountability project, through which we have built a secure repository of over 105,000 items of evidence – a critical resource for legal processes, justice and truth-seeking. I call on all Member States to support this work. I also call on them to cooperate in investigating and prosecuting alleged perpetrators of international crimes committed in Sri Lanka, under principles of universal jurisdiction, and to explore further sanctions against people credibly accused of gross violations of human rights.  I encourage Sri Lanka to seek international assistance with the exhumation of mass graves and other investigations. Together, the international community can support Sri Lankans to escape from the twin threats posed by persistent impunity and deep inequality.