The Sri Lanka Core Group, comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia and the United Kingdom, has issued a joint statement at the 63rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council, welcoming the High Commissioner’s balanced assessment of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka while pressing for deeper reforms.

The Core Group acknowledged Sri Lanka’s recent challenges, including severe weather events and global energy shocks, but stressed that the government’s stated commitment to reform must translate into “concrete progress.”

Positive steps were noted, such as the ratification of ILO Convention 190 and Sri Lanka’s engagement on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). 

However, the statement underscored that “much further action is needed to build confidence in accountability and reconciliation efforts.”

The Core Group highlighted unresolved emblematic cases and pointed to mass grave excavations as reminders of thousands of enforced disappearances still pending resolution. 

Concerns were also raised over reports of intimidation, harassment, and restrictions affecting civil society, journalists, and victims’ groups, particularly in the North and East.

Calling for progress on democratic governance, the statement urged transparent and inclusive consultations that address the needs of all affected communities.

It emphasized advancing legal and institutional reforms, resolving land‑related issues, ensuring respect for human rights in detention institutions, and strengthening independent institutions. 

Full statement: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/un-human-rights-council-63-joint-statement-on-sri-lanka (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Core Group, comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom, has commended Sri Lanka’s peaceful elections and the smooth transition of power last year.

“We recognise that the new Sri Lankan Government has only been in place for four months, and we encourage Sri Lanka to use the opportunity that this transition represents to address the challenges it faces,” the core group said, presenting a joint statement at the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). 

The joint statement presented by UK Ambassador for Human Rights to the UN, Eleanor Sanders is as follows;

This statement is by the Sri Lanka Core Group comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom.   

High Commissioner, we wish to thank you for your oral update on Sri Lanka

We would like to commend Sri Lanka’s peaceful elections and the smooth transition of power last year. We recognise that the new Sri Lankan Government has only been in place for four months, and we encourage Sri Lanka to use the opportunity that this transition represents to address the challenges it faces.   

We appreciate the Government’s commitment to making meaningful progress on reconciliation and the initial steps taken, including returning land, lifting roadblocks, and allowing communities in the North and East to commemorate the past and memorialise their loved ones. 

In order to build and sustain trust, it is essential to ensure the protection of civil society spaces, including by ending surveillance and intimidation of civil society actors and organisations.  

We welcome commitments to implement devolution in accordance with the constitution and to make progress on governance reforms.    

We take note of the Government’s stated intention to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act and emphasise that any new legislation should be in line with Sri Lanka’s international obligations. We encourage the release of those who remain detained under the Act.  

As the Government seeks to make progress on human rights and corruption cases, we urge that any comprehensive reconciliation and accountability process carry the support of affected communities, build on past recommendations and meet international standards.  

We also encourage the Government to re-invigorate the work of domestic institutions focused on reparations and missing persons. 

We reaffirm our willingness to work with the Government to ensure that any future transitional justice mechanisms are independent, inclusive, meaningful, and meet the expectations of affected communities. (Newswire)

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