Divide persists at the UNHRC: International accountability probe still a question

By

 sulochana ramiah mohan

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September 13, 2025 2:02am

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By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan

At UNHRC sessions, which commenced on 8 September 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, the divide between the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil community remains stark. The Government has consistently rejected international mechanisms to investigate alleged war crimes, while Tamils continue to call for international intervention, citing a lack of trust in domestic institutions — particularly since the State itself is accused of these crimes. This tug-of-war has persisted since the war ended in 2009, with little change over the years. Both Sri Lanka’s position and the UNHRC’s engagement remain largely unchanged, with minimal progress on either side.

The UNHRC decided to extend the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and all tasks assigned to it under Resolution 51/1. The Council requested the Office to provide an oral update at its 61st and 64th sessions, a written update at the 63rd session, and a comprehensive report on progress in reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka at its 66th session, to be discussed through an interactive dialogue.

In the coming days, it is speculated that a Resolution on Sri Lanka will be adopted. Many of the issues addressed in the resolution are already known and focus on longstanding concerns. The UNHRC resolution highlights several key areas of action. On accountability and justice, it urges the Sri Lankan Government to conduct prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations and prosecutions of all alleged human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law, including emblematic cases. The resolution also encourages the establishment of an independent public prosecutorial body and considers creating a judicial mechanism with a special counsel to address past human rights abuses.

Regarding reconciliation and governance, the Council calls on the Government to fulfil its commitments on devolution of political authority, conduct Provincial Council Elections, and strengthen local governance, particularly in the Northern and Eastern provinces. It also recognises the need to address the root causes of conflict, including militarisation, corruption, and impunity.

On legislative reforms, the Resolution notes the Government’s commitment to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and amend the Online Safety Act. It urges the Government to impose a moratorium on PTA detentions until repeal and to ensure that any new laws fully align with international human rights standards.

Concerning mass graves and enforced disappearances, the Resolution emphasises unresolved cases and stresses the need for independent, adequately resourced investigations. It calls on Sri Lanka to seek international assistance for exhumations and victim identification to meet international standards.

The Resolution also underscores victim participation and protection, stressing the inclusion of victims, survivors, and their representatives in investigations and prosecutions. It calls for safeguarding civil society, human rights defenders, journalists, victims, and their families from harassment or reprisals.

On land and military issues, the Council urges the release of lands still occupied by the military or State actors and calls for the resolution of land disputes in a transparent, impartial, and non-discriminatory manner.

Finally, the Resolution addresses monitoring and reporting, extending the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). It requests oral updates at the 61st and 64th sessions, a written update at the 63rd session, and a comprehensive report on progress in reconciliation, accountability, and human rights at the 66th session for discussion in an interactive dialogue.

Civil society groups and several member States continue to urge the renewal of the Sri Lanka Accountability Project’s mandate and the establishment of stronger accountability mechanisms.

Sri Lanka praised at the 60th session

At the 60th UNHRC session, Sri Lanka received a mix of praise and criticism — commendation for its reform pledges, censure over repressive laws, and renewed calls for tangible progress on accountability. Yet the divide between States pressing for justice for victims and those deferring to Colombo’s narrative remained evident.

The new NPP Government has maintained a similar stance, opposing international action on human rights and calling instead for support of domestic justice processes, while formally rejecting the UNHRC report on Sri Lanka. “External initiatives will only serve as hindrances to ongoing national efforts and risk further polarising the population,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

Nevertheless, the Government welcomed the session’s outcome in Geneva, where 43 countries voiced support and urged continued cooperation with Sri Lanka. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, speaking to the Council, reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to transformation and stressed its political will to cultivate a new political culture aimed at advancing the rights and well-being of all Sri Lankans.

Successive Sri Lankan Governments have repeatedly assured the UNHRC of progress, often citing their recent assumption of office and the need for more time. During former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s tenure, Sri Lanka went so far as to co-sponsor a UNHRC Resolution — an unprecedented move that sparked sharp controversy and political tensions at home. The co-sponsored Resolution remains active, according to the UNHRC.

This supportive environment for Sri Lanka comes in the wake of a report released by the UN Human Rights Office in August 2025, which called on the Government to seize what it described as a historic opportunity to break with entrenched impunity, implement transformative reforms, and deliver long-overdue justice and accountability for serious past violations, including international crimes.

The report also urged the international community to actively support accountability and reconciliation efforts, both domestically and through international mechanisms. While reaffirming that the primary responsibility for investigating and prosecuting crimes under international law rests with the Sri Lankan Government, it emphasised that these efforts could be strengthened through complementary international measures. In particular, it encouraged UN Member States to leverage the Human Rights Office’s expanded capacity to advance accountability and contribute meaningfully to reconciliation.

“Today, Sri Lanka has the chance to chart a new course, with its leadership promising to address longstanding concerns — delivering justice to victims, reinforcing the rule of law, and ending discrimination and divisive politics. What is needed now is a clear and comprehensive roadmap to turn these promises into tangible results,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

Yet, once again, Sri Lanka finds itself back at square one. The new Government has requested more time, promising it can tackle the issue ‘differently’, while hopes largely rest on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Whether the country’s long-standing national questions will be resolved, however, remains uncertain.

International Crisis Group says ‘little tangible progress by the NPP’

Alan Keenan, Senior Consultant on Sri Lanka at the International Crisis Group, highlighted this challenge in a recent commentary, Sri Lanka’s National People’s Power Faces the Legacy of Civil War, which examines Dissanayake’s first year in office as the country’s limited progress on human rights commitments comes under review at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

President Dissanayake and his National People’s Power (NPP) Government pledged to foster a new political culture aimed at ending impunity, overcoming divisive ethno-religious politics, and promoting peaceful coexistence among all Sri Lankans. Yet, their first year in office has disappointed many, particularly Tamils and Muslims in the Northern and Eastern provinces, who have seen little tangible progress on promised reforms.

Keenan also notes that Sri Lanka continues to grapple with the legacy of the civil war: unresolved cases of missing persons, uninvestigated mass graves, military occupation of Tamil lands, and systemic impunity for atrocities committed during the conflict. The NPP now faces a rare opportunity to change course by accepting UN technical assistance, inviting independent forensic experts to monitor mass grave exhumations, and consolidating investigations into a single judicial inquiry. Such steps could strengthen accountability, rebuild trust, and support a meaningful process of truth-seeking across communities.

The UN Human Rights Council can play a crucial role by adopting a New Resolution to extend monitoring and the mandate of the Sri Lanka Accountability Project. Continued international engagement, despite Colombo’s resistance, remains essential to advancing meaningful justice, reconciliation, and inclusive governance in the country.

Nonetheless, if the Government wishes to prove its critics wrong, it has an ideal place to start. Exhumations from recently discovered mass graves around the island offer the Government a powerful opportunity to demonstrate its good faith, win increased trust from Tamil victims’ and survivors’ groups, and build greater public support for war-related truth and justice among Sinhalese. Since February, the remains of more than 230 people, including children, have been uncovered in Chemmani, in the Northern Jaffna district, close to the site of another mass grave partially excavated in 1999. As with the earlier grave, the victims are believed to have been killed by the Army after it regained the area from the Tamil Tigers in 1996. Court-ordered exhumations at other recently discovered sites – in Kokkuthoduvai, in Mannar and in the Port of Colombo – have moved slowly. Numerous other mass graves in Southern, Sinhala-majority areas, including the well-known case in Matale, are believed to contain the remains of alleged or actual JVP members who disappeared and were killed in the late 1980s.

At the 60th session, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and their partners reiterated calls for accountability and justice, while countries such as Russia, Belarus, Iran, Pakistan, and Venezuela pushed back against international scrutiny, urging deference to Colombo’s ‘domestic processes’.

India was again diplomatic and reiterated its longstanding support for devolution — but strictly within the framework of Sri Lanka’s ‘unity, territorial integrity, and sovereignty’. While acknowledging Tamil aspirations for equality and justice, New Delhi refrained from endorsing any international accountability mechanisms, instead emphasising the full implementation of the Constitution, the early conduct of Provincial Council Elections, and meaningful power-sharing.

The EU welcomed the High Commissioner’s report, stressing the need for ‘a comprehensive roadmap to translate commitments into results’. Brussels voiced concern over ‘the lack of significant progress on accountability and justice for victims, particularly regarding the many cases of dead and missing persons’, underlining that accountability is central to the rule of law. At the same time, it expressed concern over the continued application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), while also acknowledging Sri Lanka’s cooperation with UN human rights mechanisms.

The UK and the Core Group, along with several European countries, urged concrete actions on human rights, accountability, reconciliation, and constitutional reform, highlighting the need to protect journalists, civil society, and human rights defenders. Concerns were raised over the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the Online Safety Act, and ongoing impunity for past abuses.

Asian and Pacific States, including Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, welcomed reform pledges but called for tangible steps towards reconciliation and accountability. Montenegro supported reopening emblematic cases under the OHCHR mandate.

In contrast, Russia, Belarus, Iran, Pakistan, Venezuela, and several other countries rejected international scrutiny, framing justice as the sole prerogative of Sri Lanka and promoting technical cooperation over external pressure. Other States, including the GCC, Egypt, the Philippines, and Colombia, advocated constructive engagement while emphasising sovereignty, national ownership, and victim-centred approaches.

ITAK, disappointed; raise the Chemmani mass graves matter with the NPP

The question remains: how can Chemmani or any other mass grave be properly excavated, subjected to international verification, and used to hold perpetrators accountable when these processes remain unresolved? On this issue, ITAK has expressed its loss of faith and confidence in the NPP Government.

Referring to Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath’s statement at the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, representing the Tamil communities in the North and East, expressed deep disappointment with the Government’s response to critical issues of accountability and reconciliation. The Government came into office with multiple promises; yet, one full year after the President’s Election, there is little evidence of these commitments being fulfilled.

While the Minister emphasised that strengthening national unity and reconciliation is central to the country’s development, even the ‘low-hanging fruit’ remain unaddressed. Despite repeated assurances, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has not been repealed. It is particularly concerning that, after previously taking a firm stance against enacting replacement legislation, the Minister now proposes introducing new counter-terrorism laws. The PTA continues to be applied despite calls for a moratorium until its repeal. Similarly, no action has been taken to repeal the Online Safety Act.

The Minister’s claim that external action would create divisions and undermine national processes is deeply problematic, as is his opposition to the Sri Lanka Accountability Project. A decade and a half after the end of the armed conflict, there remains no effective internal mechanism for accountability. Against this backdrop, it is entirely understandable that victims seek international involvement.

The Minister also failed to address the clear evidence of genocidal intent uncovered at Chemmani, Jaffna, where 240 skeletal remains — likely victims of extrajudicial killings — have been found. Local expertise for victim identification is lacking, yet the Government has neither sought international assistance for this nor for other mass graves and cases of enforced disappearances.

“We note and thank the Government of India for reaffirming support for meaningful devolution and the Tamil community’s aspirations for equality, justice, dignity, and peace. India also called for the early conduct of Provincial Council Elections and meaningful devolution of powers.”

The Government of Sri Lanka, however, has stated in its written response that Provincial Council Elections will only take place after the completion of the delimitation process — a move that could delay Elections by several years. By denying the Tamil-speaking people of the North and East their franchise, the Government is failing to uphold its commitments.

The Government must immediately approve the Private Member’s Bill introduced by MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam and facilitate the holding of Provincial Council Elections without further delay.

 How the NPP Government handles the Chemmani mass graves, other killings, and findings from the Batalanda Commission report will serve as a critical test of its credibility and ability to build trust with minority communities. 

amiesulo@gmail.com

Divide persists at the UNHRC: International accountability probe still a question