The British Government says it will continue to press for further progress on human rights in Sri Lanka this year, including efforts to improve press freedoms, tackle gender inequality, and encourage the reform of discriminatory laws. The UK says it will also continue to urge the Government to deliver on its commitments reflected in HRC resolution 34/1.

The British Foreign Office today released the 2018 Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights report. On Sri Lanka, the report said that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka was mixed in 2018. Key concerns included increased inter-communal tensions, the slow delivery of key reconciliation commitments, delays in introducing new human-rights compliant counter-terrorism legislation, and a stalled transitional justice process.

The report said that a 51-day constitutional crisis, which began in October, further disrupted effective delivery on these points, although it ultimately confirmed the resilience of parliament and the judiciary.

In February and March, anti-Muslim riots took place in Ampara and Kandy, resulting in three associated deaths, the damage or destruction of over 400 Muslim-owned properties, and a 12-day State of Emergency, during which some social media platforms were blocked by the government. Over 100 arrests were made, although no trials have taken place as yet. In May, a prominent extremist Buddhist monk was convicted on multiple counts of harassment and intimidation of witnesses. We continued to support district inter-religious dialogue, including through our Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme, to help mediation in inter-communal tensions.

In May, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka was upgraded to ‘A’ status by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, in recognition of its efforts to promote and protect human rights and its full compliance with the Paris Principles relating to NHRIs.

The report said that the constitutional crisis which began in October further highlighted the important role of independent institutions, with the judiciary delivering a number of important determinations, upholding and safeguarding the Constitution. Reports of intimidation of the media and civil society increased during this period, while throughout the year human rights defenders in the north and east raised increased concerns of surveillance and harassment.

Notwithstanding political rhetoric threatening the re-introduction of the death penalty in the second half of 2018, Sri Lanka voted in favour of the UN moratorium on the death penalty in December. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and a number of international NGOs continued to report allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by the security forces. Sri Lanka acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture on 5 December 2017. It entered into force for Sri Lanka in January.

A draft Counter Terrorism Act, intended to replace the much criticised Prevention of Terrorism Act, was tabled in parliament in October. Following several petitions related to human rights, the Supreme Court determined that specific clauses in the act would need to be amended, further delaying its adoption.

The Government of Sri Lanka remained committed to combating human smuggling and trafficking. In August, the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister attended the 7th Bali Process Ministerial Conference, reiterating commitments to combat people smuggling.

At the UN Human Rights Council in September, the UK welcomed the progress of the Government of Sri Lanka in implementing HRC resolution 34/1, while identifying a number of areas for improvement, including a need to show more progress on constitutional reform, the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms, and the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

In January, the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights acknowledged some improvement in the overall situation in Sri Lanka, but noted a lack of progress on accountability for conflict-related violations. The long-awaited Office of Missing Persons began operations in February, and submitted an interim report with recommendations in September. In October, parliament passed the Office of Reparations Bill, although it is yet to be operationalised. There was some further return of military occupied land, but the size of the military presence in the north remained similar to 2017. Throughout the year, including at CHOGM in April, and during a visit to Sri Lanka in October, Mark Field urged the government to make more progress on its HRC commitments.

In August, Mark Field announced an extra £1 million of funding to help with the resettlement of displaced families in the north and east of Sri Lanka, followed by an additional £400,000 in October to add to existing UK support for de-mining work in the north.

The UK has provided Sri Lanka with a total of £8.3 million CSSF funding from 2016 to 2019, including for police reform, de-mining, inter-faith dialogue, and support to the UN’s Peacebuilding work.

The Japanese government has finalized a plan to provide Sri Lanka with a vessel equipped with underwater sonar for detecting the location of other vessels in order to improve the country’s oceanographic survey capabilities, according to Japanese Deputy Press Secretary Kaneko Mariko.

The Government of India has decided to bear the cost towards applicable taxes and other charges to the tune of over LKR 25 million per month for a period of one year for the passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam in India and Kankesanthurai (KKS).

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is set to make a final decision on its presidential candidate in June, according to Party sources. The SLPP will decide whether to nominate a candidate from within the Party or to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe for re-election. The Party has scheduled a series of electoral summits starting next week to seek public opinion on the presidential candidate.

apanese Foreign Minister Yōko Kamikawa called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday. The Japanese Government’s intention to resume the Yen-denominated loans and the stalled Japanese investment initiatives, including the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) expansion project and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, were among the topics taken up for discussion. Discussions were also held on the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) pertaining to debt restructuring in Sri Lanka.

Nearly 10,000 soldiers who deserted the Sri Lanka Army have received legal discharge as of May 4 during an amnesty period declared by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence.

The Examinations Department issued the rescrutiny results of the 2022 (2023) General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (O/L) Examination yesterday. They said a total of 49,312 applicants had applied for rescrutiny and 250,311 answers were rescrutinised.

Tourism Industry veterans cautioned that heightened confusion over the new visa system, along with the abrupt increase in visa fees, could derail 2.3 million tourist arrival target set for the year. This could potentially reduce arrivals below 2 million, while service providers stand to gain $50 million in fees.

The Supreme Court granted leave to proceed with the Fundamental Rights petition filed by former CID Director SSP Shani Abeysekara challenging the National Police Commission’s decision to interdict him from police service following the Presidential Election 2019.

China assured its fullest support and cooperation to conclude the debt restructuring process in Sri Lanka, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said.

Former President Maithripala Sirisena has appeared before the Criminal Investigations Department in order to record a statement yesterday (3). Accordingly, Sirisena recorded a statement for two hours at the CID, regarding the Easter Sunday terror attacks.

Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, in response to allegations about the tender process, said there is no such requirement to call for tenders because these are the only companies involved in e-visa processing in different countries.

The Sri Lankan rupee has now become one of the fastest-growing currencies in the world, Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.

Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong had called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Temple Trees in Colombo yesterday (May 02) to discuss ways and means of early implementation of the agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) reached between the two countries during the Prime Minister’s official visit to China in March 2024.

In a significant development aimed at revitalising maritime infrastructure, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to obtain a proposed financial grant from India for the renovation of the Karainagar Boat Yard.

Tourism stakeholders said Sri Lanka now has the highest visa costs in Asia, creating a significant barrier for tourists compared to competing destinations like Thailand, Vietnam and many others that offer free visas or charge much lower fees.

Former Sri Lankan cricket captain and former Minister Arjuna Ranatunga refuted reports that he had joined the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) though he appeared in a May Day rally in Talawakale which Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa had attended.

The price of a 12.5 kg domestic Litro LP gas cylinder will reduced by Rs.175 from midnight today, Litro Gas said. Accordingly, the new retail price of a cylinder of 12.5 kg LP gas will be Rs.3,940 The 5 kg cylinder of LP gas will be reduced by Rs. 70 and the new retail price will be Rs.1,582 The 2.3 kg cylinder of LP gas will be reduced by Rs.32 and the new retail price will be Rs.740.

he second phase of the first school term for 2024 will end today, the Education Ministry said. Accordingly, the third phase of all government approved schools is scheduled to begin on May 20.

Chaos broke out at the BIA last night following the controversial takeover of the on-arrival visa issuance process at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) by an Indian company.

Norwegian Ambassador in New Delhi May-Elin Stener met National People's Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the JVP head office this afternoon. Second Secretary of the Norwegian Embassy John Bjerkem and NPP MP Vijitha Herath and Harini Amarasuriya attended the meeting.