The Citizens of the People’s Struggle organisation is calling on the Government to establish a special commission to address the recent prison unrest and seek solutions to the long-standing issue, while also seeking guidance from the United Nations (UN) to help local authorities manage the problem more efficiently.

The organisation handed over an urgent human rights (HR)-related complaint to the UN Headquarters in Sri Lanka, addressed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, yesterday (10), requesting that Sri Lanka be made to follow the Nelson Mandela Rules for prisoners.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, the organisation’s Secretary, Chanaka Bandara, said that the prison system constructed by the colonisers had not been updated to meet the needs of current inmates, and that the extreme congestion experienced by inmates could lead to human rights violations in the event of an emergency.

“In the recent events where the inmates were running for their lives in packed buildings, their lives were threatened,” he said.

“The activists who are concerned should be brought to one table to discuss this matter,” he added.

The complaint follows a series of recent incidents of unrest in prisons across the country, which resulted in deaths among inmates and officials. Activists have urged the Government to take immediate measures, and last week, the President convened prison authorities to introduce a joint mechanism to manage all prisons. However, activist groups have also cast doubts on this action.

Prisons Commissioner General (Acting) Prasad Hemantha Kumara told The Daily Morning that the joint mechanism in question was still at the decision-making stage between the Justice Ministry and the Defence Ministry.

Attempts to contact the Justice Minister, Attorney Harshana Nanayakkara, and the Deputy Defence Minister proved futile.