Twenty years after 17 aid workers from the French humanitarian association Action contre la Faim (ACF) were killed in Muttur, eastern Sri Lanka, the authorities must finally deliver truth, justice and reparations, Amnesty International said.

Issuing a statement, Amnesty International said that on 4 August 2006, 17 Sri Lankan employees of ACF, 16 Tamils and one Muslim, were found shot dead at close range at the organization’s office. 

Despite repeated investigations and commitments by successive governments, no one has been brought to justice for the killings. This prolonged failure has denied victims’ families their right to truth and justice, and undermined confidence in the rule of law and the authorities’ commitment to justice for war crimes, it said. 

“Twenty years is far too long for families to wait for justice. For two decades, those who lost their loved ones have carried the burden of grief while the Sri Lankan authorities have failed to deliver accountability,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia. 

“The twentieth anniversary must not become another milestone marked only by remembrance. It should mark the moment when the authorities finally demonstrate that no one is above the law and that crimes under international law and serious human rights violations will no longer be met with impunity.” 

The ACF employees had remained in Muttur to provide humanitarian assistance to communities affected by the armed conflict and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, despite escalating hostilities between the Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). 

Amnesty International further said that over the past two decades, despite repeated official commitments, domestic investigations (which included a magisterial inquiry, a human rights commission probe, and a commission of inquiry), no accountability for the killing has been established.  

Amnesty International reiterated calls made by ACF and urges the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure a prompt, independent, impartial and effective criminal investigation into the killings, consistent with international human rights law and standards. 

Any renewed investigation must be capable of identifying and prosecuting those suspected of criminal responsibility in fair trials before civilian courts. Victims’ families and witnesses must be able to meaningfully participate in the process and must be guaranteed full protection, it said. 

The organization added that the authorities should also publicly explain the steps taken to date and set out how they intend to overcome the long-standing obstacles that have prevented justice up to now. 

In 2008, ACF observed that the investigations set up at the time had “little or no chance of establishing officially the persons criminally responsible for this war crime (direct perpetrators and chain of command)” and considered that they “proved ineffective and unproductive.” Afterwards ACF decided to end its mission in Sri Lanka and called for an international investigation. Ending impunity for the Muttur massacre is essential not only for the victims’ families, but also for restoring confidence in Sri Lanka’s justice system and signalling a decisive break from the longstanding impunity for crimes under international law and grave human rights violations, Amnesty International noted. 

Ahead of the twentieth anniversary, Action contre la Faim and other human rights organizations have renewed calls on the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure an effective investigation into the killings and deliver truth and justice for the victims and their families. (Newswire)

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Amnesty International South Asia has made four key requests from the Sri Lankan government regarding the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), expressing concern over continued arrests and detentions under the PTA despite the administration’s commitment to repeal it.

In a post on ‘X’, Amnesty urged the government to promptly investigate allegations of abuse and misuse, probe claims of torture and ill‑treatment while ensuring due process for all detainees, impose an immediate moratorium on the use of the Act, and repeal the legislation without delay.

Amnesty further described the law’s “overly broad provisions” as incompatible with international human rights standards. 

The organization highlighted the case of 24‑year‑old Tamil hip hop artist Sangeethan Ganeskumar, known as Hiphop Sangee, who was arrested on June 2 and remanded until June 17 over a performance authorities claim glorified the LTTE. 

Amnesty stressed that “Sri Lankan authorities must immediately release Sangeethan Ganeshkumar unless he is promptly charged with an internationally recognisable offence in proceedings consistent with international fair trial standards.”

The statement also drew attention to concerns raised by family and lawyers regarding the detention of former State Intelligence Service Chief Suresh Salley, arrested in February in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. 

Amnesty stressed that suspects must be brought to justice through strict adherence to due process and fair trial rights, while victims of the bombings deserve truth, justice, and reparations.

The organization further noted that the PTA has been invoked in drug‑related cases, raising questions about its scope and application, and warned that the Act enables arbitrary practices and creates conditions conducive to torture due to the absence of safeguards. (Newswire)

Sri Lanka: @amnesty is concerned by the continued arrests and detentions carried out under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), notwithstanding the current administration’s stated commitment to repeal the legislation, which has long been criticized for its overly broad…

— Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office (@amnestysasia) June 8, 2026

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Amnesty International South Asia has warned that Sri Lanka’s failure to deliver on repeated commitments for credible investigations into wartime abuses continues to undermine reconciliation and durable peace.

“The commemoration underscores the continued and urgent need for truth, justice, and reparations for the credible allegations of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed during the conflict, as documented by United Nations investigations,” the organization said in a statement marking the 17th anniversary of the end of the armed conflict. 

Amnesty noted that despite pledges by successive governments, including the current administration, “entrenched impunity” persists, leaving survivors without redress. 

The group stressed that accountability remains essential for reconciliation and for Sri Lanka to meet its obligations under international law.

Thousands of Tamil survivors and families gathered at Mullivaikkal today to honour those who lost their lives and to bear witness to the suffering endured during and at the end of the war. 

Community representatives reiterated that meaningful engagement with the government depends on addressing longstanding grievances and ensuring accountability for past abuses.

“We stand in solidarity with their pursuit of justice,” Amnesty International South Asia added. (Newswire)

Sri Lanka: Today marks 17 years since the end of the internal armed conflict in Sri Lanka. Each year, thousands of Tamil survivors and their families gather at Mullivaikkal to honor the memory of those who lost their lives and to bear witness to the profound suffering endured… pic.twitter.com/S4zL2s1ap7

— Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office (@amnestysasia) May 18, 2026

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Amnesty International has called on the Sri Lankan government to take urgent action following the release of a new report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on accountability for conflict-related sexual violence committed during and after the country’s internal armed conflict.

Responding to the report, Smriti Singh, Amnesty International’s South Asia Director, said: “This important report builds on findings by previous UN investigations and highlights conflict-related sexual violence occurring well after the end of the internal armed conflict in 2009, citing incidents reported as recently as in 2024. The publication of the report must act as a clarion call for Sri Lanka’s government to finally deliver justice and accountability for the thousands of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.”

She added that the report “reaffirms the widely-known truth that sexual violence against members of the Tamil community was ‘deliberate, widespread, and systemic.’ It also rightly recognizes that some of these acts may have amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.” 

Singh further noted that OHCHR’s findings expose the failure of successive administrations to provide redress and the ongoing impact on survivors, urging the new government to translate its commitments into action.

Amnesty International emphasized the need for authorities to heed the report’s recommendations, end impunity, and publicly commit to a timeline to implement long-overdue measures ensuring truth, justice, and reparations.

The remarks come after the OHCHR report stated that acts of conflict-related sexual violence “were employed as a strategic tool to extract information, assert dominance, intimidate individuals and communities, and instil a pervasive climate of fear and humiliation. Such violations were institutionally enabled, and disproportionately targeted conflict-affected communities.”

It further stresses that “Sri Lanka is obligated to prosecute perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict, including those who ordered, aided, or failed to prevent such acts through command responsibility.” (Newswire)

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Amnesty International South Asia has raised concerns over the detention of 22-year-old Mohamad Rusdi on 22 March 2025 in Colombo.

Issuing a statement, Amnesty International South Asia said Rusdi has been detained for ninety days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Amnesty International South Asia has expressed disappointment in the use of the PTA by authorities under Sri Lanka’s new leadership. 

Amnesty International South Asia points out that two weeks since the arrest, Sri Lankan authorities have been unable to furnish any evidence of criminal wrongdoing legitimising Rusdi’s arrest or continued detention. 

As such, the rights group urged the Sri Lankan authorities to immediately restore Rusdi’s due process rights, and, in the absence of any credible charges or credible evidence of an internationally recognisable crime being committed, release him. 

The full statement by the Amnesty International South Asia Regional Office;

Sri Lanka: @amnesty is concerned by the arrest of 22-year-old Mohamad Rusdi on 22 March 2025 in Colombo. Amnesty International has seen a copy of the Detention Order signed off by the Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 25 March in his capacity as the Minister of Defense ordering the detention of Rusdi for a period of ninety days, issued under the powers vested in him through the notorious anti-terror law, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). We are disappointed to see the PTA in regular use by authorities under Sri Lanka’s new leadership, despite the government’s pledges that it would repeal this draconian law.

According to the Detention Order, Rusdi is detained under the suspicion that he is connected with or concerned in unlawful activity with regards to “associating with members of extremist or terrorist organizations, motivated by extremist ideologies and acting in a manner detrimental to peace and harmony among communities and knowingly concealing such information from security forces.” Two weeks since the arrest, Sri Lankan authorities have been unable to furnish any evidence of criminal wrongdoing legitimising his arrest or continued detention. 

The Sri Lankan authorities must immediately restore Rusdi’s due process rights, including ensuring that he has unfettered access to his family and lawyers, and, in the absence of any charges of credible evidence of an internationally recognisable crime being committed, release him. 

Furthermore, in order to breakaway from the authorities’ past practices of abusing the PTA for decades, the new Sri Lankan government must be resolute in its stance on the PTA and issue strict guidelines to authorities to desist from resorting to and abusing the PTA’s vast powers where there is no legitimate suspicion of a terror offence. There must be an immediate moratorium on the use of the PTA and the government should make public a timeline for its plans to do away with this abusive law. Those affected by the PTA must be provided remedies and reparations for the injustice they have suffered. (Newswire)

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Amnesty International’s research has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, the organization said in a landmark new report published today.  

The report, ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, documents how, during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity.  

“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.  

“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now. 

“States that continue to transfer arms to Israel at this time must know they are violating their obligation to prevent genocide and are at risk of becoming complicit in genocide. All states with influence over Israel, particularly key arms suppliers like the USA and Germany, but also other EU member states, the UK and others, must act now to bring Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza to an immediate end.” 

Over the past two months the crisis has grown particularly acute in the North Gaza governorate, where a besieged population is facing starvation, displacement and annihilation amid relentless bombardment and suffocating restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid.  

“Our research reveals that, for months, Israel has persisted in committing genocidal acts, fully aware of the irreparable harm it was inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza. It continued to do so in defiance of countless warnings about the catastrophic humanitarian situation and of legally binding decisions from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to take immediate measures to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” said Agnès Callamard.  

“Israel has repeatedly argued that its actions in Gaza are lawful and can be justified by its military goal to eradicate Hamas. But genocidal intent can co-exist alongside military goals and does not need to be Israel’s sole intent.” 

Amnesty International examined Israel’s acts in Gaza closely and in their totality, taking into account their recurrence and simultaneous occurrence, and both their immediate impact and their cumulative and mutually reinforcing consequences. The organization considered the scale and severity of the casualties and destruction over time. It also analysed public statements by officials, finding that prohibited acts were often announced or called for in the first place by high-level officials in charge of the war efforts. 

“Taking into account the pre-existing context of dispossession, apartheid and unlawful military occupation in which these acts have been committed, we could find only one reasonable conclusion: Israel’s intent is the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, whether in parallel with, or as a means to achieve, its military goal of destroying Hamas,” said Agnès Callamard. 

“The atrocity crimes committed on 7 October 2023 by Hamas and other armed groups against Israelis and victims of other nationalities, including deliberate mass killings and hostage-taking, can never justify Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”  

International jurisprudence recognizes that the perpetrator does not need to succeed in their attempts to destroy the protected group, either in whole or in part, for genocide to have been committed. The commission of prohibited acts with the intent to destroy the group, as such, is sufficient. 

Amnesty International’s report examines in detail Israel’s violations in Gaza over nine months between 7 October 2023 and early July 2024. The organization interviewed 212 people, including Palestinian victims and witnesses, local authorities in Gaza, healthcare workers, conducted fieldwork and analysed an extensive range of visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery. It also analysed statements by senior Israeli government and military officials, and official Israeli bodies. On multiple occasions, the organization shared its findings with the Israeli authorities but had received no substantive response at the time of publication.  

Unprecedented scale and magnitude 

Israel’s actions following Hamas’s deadly attacks on 7 October 2023 have brought Gaza’s population to the brink of collapse. Its brutal military offensive had killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, including over 13,300 children, and injured over 97,000 more, by 7 October 2024, many of them in direct or deliberately indiscriminate attacks, often wiping out entire multigenerational families. It has caused unprecedented destruction, which experts say occurred at a level and speed not seen in any other conflict in the 21st century, levelling entire cities and destroying critical infrastructure, agricultural land and cultural and religious sites. It thereby rendered large swathes of Gaza uninhabitable.  

Mohammed, who fled with his family from Gaza City to Rafah in March 2024 and was displaced again in May 2024, described their struggle to survive in horrifying conditions:  

“Here in Deir al-Balah, it’s like an apocalypse… You have to protect your children from insects, from the heat, and there is no clean water, no toilets, all while the bombing never stops. You feel like you are subhuman here.”  

Israel imposed conditions of life in Gaza that created a deadly mixture of malnutrition, hunger and diseases, and exposed Palestinians to a slow, calculated death. Israel also subjected hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza to incommunicado detention, torture and other ill-treatment.  

Viewed in isolation, some of the acts investigated by Amnesty International constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law. But in looking at the broader picture of Israel’s military campaign and the cumulative impact of its policies and acts, genocidal intent is the only reasonable conclusion.  

Intent to destroy 

To establish Israel’s specific intent to physically destroy Palestinians in Gaza, as such, Amnesty International analysed the overall pattern of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, reviewed dehumanizing and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials, particularly those at the highest levels, and considered the context of Israel’s system of apartheid, its inhumane blockade of Gaza and the unlawful 57-year-old military occupation of the Palestinian territory.  

Before reaching its conclusion, Amnesty International examined Israel’s claims that its military lawfully targeted Hamas and other armed groups throughout Gaza, and that the resulting unprecedented destruction and denial of aid were the outcome of unlawful conduct by Hamas and other armed groups, such as locating fighters among the civilian population or the diversion of aid. The organization concluded these claims are not credible. The presence of Hamas fighters near or within a densely populated area does not absolve Israel from its obligations to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians and avoid indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. Its research found Israel repeatedly failed to do so, committing multiple crimes under international law for which there can be no justification based on Hamas’s actions. Amnesty International also found no evidence that the diversion of aid could explain Israel’s extreme and deliberate restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid.  

In its analysis, the organization also considered alternative arguments such as ones that Israel was acting recklessly or that it simply wanted to destroy Hamas and did not care if it needed to destroy Palestinians in the process, demonstrating a callous disregard for their lives rather than genocidal intent.  

However, regardless of whether Israel sees the destruction of Palestinians as instrumental to destroying Hamas or as an acceptable by-product of this goal, this view of Palestinians as disposable and not worthy of consideration is in itself evidence of genocidal intent.  

Many of the unlawful acts documented by Amnesty International were preceded by officials urging their implementation. The organization reviewed 102 statements that were issued by Israeli government and military officials and others between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024 and dehumanized Palestinians, called for or justified genocidal acts or other crimes against them. 

Of these, Amnesty International identified 22 statements made by senior officials in charge of managing the offensive that appeared to call for, or justify, genocidal acts, providing direct evidence of genocidal intent. This language was frequently replicated, including by Israeli soldiers on the ground, as evidenced by audiovisual content verified by Amnesty International showing soldiers making calls to “erase” Gaza or to make it uninhabitable, and celebrating the destruction of Palestinian homes, mosques, schools and universities. 

Killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm 

Amnesty International documented the genocidal acts of killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinians in Gaza by reviewing the results of investigations it conducted into 15 air strikes between 7 October 2023 and 20 April 2024 that killed at least 334 civilians, including 141 children, and wounded hundreds of others. Amnesty International found no evidence that any of these strikes were directed at a military objective. 

In one illustrative case, on 20 April 2024, an Israeli air strike destroyed the Abdelal family house in the Al-Jneinah neighbourhood in eastern Rafah, killing three generations of Palestinians, including 16 children, while they were sleeping.  

While these represent just a fraction of Israel’s aerial attacks, they are indicative of a broader pattern of repeated direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects or deliberately indiscriminate attacks. The attacks were also conducted in ways designed to cause a very high number of fatalities and injuries among the civilian population.  

Inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction 

The report documents how Israel deliberately inflicted conditions of life on Palestinians in Gaza intended to lead, over time, to their destruction. These conditions were imposed through three simultaneous patterns that repeatedly compounded the effect of each other’s devastating impacts: damage to and destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure and other objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population; the repeated use of sweeping, arbitrary and confusing mass “evacuation” orders to forcibly displace almost all of Gaza’s population; and the denial and obstruction of the delivery of essential services, humanitarian assistance and other life-saving supplies into and within Gaza. 

After 7 October 2023, Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza cutting off electricity, water and fuel. In the nine months reviewed for this report, Israel maintained a suffocating, unlawful blockade, tightly controlled access to energy sources, failed to facilitate meaningful humanitarian access within Gaza,  and obstructed the import and delivery of life-saving goods and humanitarian aid, particularly to areas north of Wadi Gaza. They thereby exacerbated an already existing humanitarian crisis. This, combined with the extensive damage to Gaza’s homes, hospitals, water and sanitation facilities and agricultural land, and mass forced displacement, caused catastrophic levels of hunger and led to the spread of diseases at alarming rates. The impact was especially harsh on young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, with anticipated long-term consequences for their health.  

Time and again, Israel had the chance to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, yet for over a year it has repeatedly refused to take steps blatantly within its power to do so, such as opening sufficient access points to Gaza or lifting tight restrictions on what could enter the Strip  or their obstruction of aid deliveries within Gaza while the situation has grown progressively worse. 

Through its repeated “evacuation” orders Israel displaced nearly 1.9 million Palestinians – 90% of Gaza’s population – into ever-shrinking, unsafe pockets of land under inhumane conditions, some of them up to 10 times. These multiple waves of forced displacement left many jobless and deeply traumatized, especially since some 70% of Gaza’s residents are refugees or descendants of refugees whose towns and villages were ethnically cleansed by Israel during the 1948 Nakba. 

Despite conditions quickly becoming unfit for human life, Israeli authorities refused to consider measures that would have protected displaced civilians and ensured their basic needs were met, showing that their actions were deliberate.  

They refused to allow those displaced to return to their homes in northern Gaza or relocate temporarily to other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory or Israel, continuing to deny many Palestinians their right to return under international law to areas they were displaced from in 1948. They did so knowing that there was nowhere safe for Palestinians in Gaza to flee to.  

Accountability for genocide 

“The international community’s seismic, shameful failure for over a year to press Israel to end its atrocities in Gaza, by first delaying calls for a ceasefire and then continuing arms transfers, is and will remain a stain on our collective conscience,” said Agnès Callamard.  

“Governments must stop pretending they are powerless to end this genocide, which was enabled by decades of impunity for Israel’s violations of international law. States need to move beyond mere expressions of regret or dismay and take strong and sustained international action, however uncomfortable a finding of genocide may be for some of Israel’s allies.  

“The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity issued last month offer real hope of long-overdue justice for victims. States must demonstrate their respect for the court’s decision and for universal international law principles by arresting and handing over those wanted by the ICC.  

“We are calling on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to urgently consider adding genocide to the list of crimes it is investigating and for all states to use every legal avenue to bring perpetrators to justice. No one should be allowed to commit genocide and remain unpunished.” 

Amnesty International is also calling for all civilian hostages to be released unconditionally and for Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups responsible for the crimes committed on 7 October to be held to account.  

The organization is also calling for the UN Security Council to impose targeted sanctions against Israeli and Hamas officials most implicated in crimes under international law. 

Background  

On 7 October 2023 Hamas and other armed groups indiscriminately fired rockets into southern Israel and carried out deliberate mass killings and hostage-taking there, killing 1,200 people, including over 800 civilians, and abducted 223 civilians and captured 27 soldiers. The crimes perpetrated by Hamas and other armed groups during this attack will be the focus of a forthcoming Amnesty International report.  

Since October 2023, Amnesty International has conducted in-depth investigations into the multiple violations and crimes under international law committed by Israeli forces, including direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and deliberately indiscriminate attacks killing hundreds of civilians, as well as other unlawful attacks on and collective punishment of the civilian population. The organization has called on the Office of the ICC Prosecutor to expedite its investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine and is campaigning for an immediate ceasefire. (Amnesty International)

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At the 15th anniversary commemoration of the end of Sri Lanka’s internal armed conflict,  Secretary General at Amnesty International Agnès Callamard, reflected on the brutal Mullivaikkal offensive, highlighting the collective failure of the Sri Lankan authorities and the international community to deliver justice to the many victims.

“Today’s anniversary is a grim reminder of the collective failure of the Sri Lankan authorities and the international community to deliver justice to the many victims of Sri Lanka’s three-decade-long internal armed conflict. It is sobering to stand in the same place where, 15 years ago, countless civilian lives were lost during the last days of the war.

“Ahead of this event, we have witnessed clampdown on the memory initiatives, including arrests, arbitrary detentions and deliberately skewed interpretations of the Tamil community’s attempts to remember their people lost to the war. Authorities must respect the space for victims to grieve, memorialise their loved ones and respect their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

“UN investigations have found credible evidence of crimes under international law and other violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed by those on both sides of the conflict, yet there has been little in the way of an independent or impartial national inquiry into such serious crimes. Meanwhile, the families of those who were forcibly disappeared during the conflict have been left to search desperately for their loved ones. It is truly heartbreaking to hear from victims how long they have been demanding justice in vain.

“The Sri Lankan government is best placed to provide answers to the victims, however numerous domestic mechanisms to establish accountability in the last 15 years have been mere window dressing. The report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released earlier this week too reiterates the gaping deficits in Sri Lanka’s accountability initiatives that has contributed to impunity remaining deeply entrenched.

“Tens of thousands of victims and their families continue to suffer in anguish as they await truth, justice, and reparations. We stand in solidarity with them here in Mullivaikkal today.” (Newswire)

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Sri Lankan law enforcement officials engaged in the violent repression of protests must be held accountable for committing widespread human rights violations, said Amnesty International in a new investigative report released on Tuesday.

The report, ‘Ready to suppress any protest’ Sri Lanka: Unlawful use of weapons during protests’, analyses the use of force during policing of 30 protests that took place in Sri Lanka between March 2022 and June 2023. Amnesty International’s research shows a pattern in the unlawful use of tear gas and water cannon and the misuse of batons by Sri Lankan law enforcement officials with video evidence revealing that in at least 17 protests – more than half of those analysed – the conduct of law enforcement officials fell well short of international law and standards on the use of force.

“From the outset, the Sri Lankan police approached the 2022-23 protests assuming that they would be unlawful and violent and that they would need to use force to repress them. The police failed to recognize that people have the right to peacefully protest, and that the authorities have a duty to facilitate and protect protests. Instead, they targeted, chased, and beat largely peaceful protesters,” said Smriti Singh, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for South Asia.

During 2022 and 2023, Sri Lankans called for accountability for the prolonged economic crisis, corruption and human rights violations, in large-scale protests and an occupy movement known as the Aragalaya in Colombo and other cities across Sri Lanka. Amnesty International has documented unlawful use of force against largely peaceful protests that continue to date, including in 2024.

Meanwhile, in the Northern and Eastern provinces of the country, security forces and intelligence agencies regularly carry out surveillance, intimidation, harassment, and obstruction of largely peaceful protests that have continued to take place since 2017 by the relatives of people forcibly disappeared during the internal armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

During its investigation, Amnesty International conducted 39 qualitative interviews and an open-source investigation into 95 verified videos gathered on social media of 30 protests, predominantly from Colombo, Battaramulla, Kelaniya, Jaffna and Galle. In March 2024, Amnesty International wrote to the Sri Lanka Police outlining the allegations in this report and requesting an official response but had not received a reply at the time of publication.

Unlawful use of Tear gas, water cannons and batons:

“Tear gas was used in an inhumane way”

The police followed a pattern of using large quantities of tear gas against peaceful or largely peaceful protesters repeatedly in the same area without giving them an adequate opportunity to disperse, and without making any reasonable effort to limit risk of injury. Videos verified by Amnesty International also show the combined use of water cannon and tear gas by police against largely peaceful protestors in 2023 without giving them sufficient time and opportunity to disperse, in breach of international law and standards as well as best practices. This was documented in various protests and most prominently on the peaceful protest of 3 February 2023 in Colombo.

Thilina, a journalist and protester, told Amnesty International that police also used batons against them. He said: “After they used water cannon and tear gas on us, they pursued us and beat us as we were dispersing. I was hit with a baton on my back.”

Police fired tear gas grenades from behind the protesters while the protesters were trying to disperse, in breach of international human rights standards.  They also repeatedly failed to take adequate precautionary measures when using tear gas, and fired into areas that had no clear exit such as near schools and on the street. This unnecessarily exposed children and bystanders to the effects of chemical irritants. Amnesty International analysed at least three videos which showed children rubbing their eyes, coughing, and experiencing discomfort.

Upeksha*, a protester, told Amnesty International: “Police used tear gas until people could not breathe. We went into a temple and used the utensils and water to wash the children’s eyes.”

“Water cannons were suddenly fired… there were constant jets”

The police used water cannon at close range against peaceful or largely peaceful protesters and in situations where protesters posed no threat to police officers and were attempting to disperse. Police also fired water cannon directly at a media correspondent reporting live from a protest in Colombo in June 2023, despite clear and visible signs of cameras and other media equipment. In the north of the country, police used water cannon against a largely peaceful protest by family members of the disappeared.

Devika*, whose husband was forcibly disappeared 15 years ago after the end of the internal armed conflict, told Amnesty International: “The jet was directed at my face, and I was hit badly in the eye. My eye swelled and I blacked out.”

Lack of investigation and accountability:

“It was as if they were punishing protesters”

Despite widespread human rights violations by law enforcement agencies and security forces, not a single police officer or member of the army has been prosecuted or convicted for the unlawful use of force during protests in 2022 and 2023. This lack of accountability exists within the context of a wider culture of impunity, where police and military personnel have rarely been held accountable for human rights violations; it also emboldens law enforcement officials to continue violently suppressing protests.

The Sri Lankan state is responsible under international law to investigate effectively, impartially, and in a timely manner, any allegation or reasonable suspicion of human rights violations by law enforcement officials. If the investigations find sufficient credible evidence, those suspected of criminal responsibility must be brought to justice in fair trials before ordinary civilian courts. This applies to those with responsibility at all levels, including senior officers.

“The brute force approach to policing of protests does not comply with international law and standards and restricts the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Sri Lanka which is guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Sri Lanka is a state party. The authorities must therefore urgently investigate all credible allegations of unlawful use of force by police during the 2022-23 protests as a failure to do so would in itself be a violation of human rights,” said Smriti Singh. (Newswire)

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Amnesty International has called on the government of Sri Lanka to end impunity for late journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge’s killing.

Taking to ‘X’, the international human rights group, urged the Sri Lankan government to ensure those responsible for his assassination are held to account.

“Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated on this day 15 years ago. Despite the Sri Lankan government’s assurances to resolve the case domestically, the investigation has stalled. Justice has eluded his family to date, who have been continuing their fight for accountability for Lasantha’s killing,” the group further said.

Amnesty International’s appeal comes on the 15th death anniversary of the late Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, commemorated today (Jan 08). (NewsWire)

Lasantha Wickrematunge was assassinated on this day 15 years ago.
Despite the Sri Lankan government's assurances to resolve the case domestically, investigation has stalled. Justice has eluded his family to date, who have been continuing their fight for accountability for… pic.twitter.com/AoY28b0b2T

— Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office (@amnestysasia) January 8, 2024

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