The International Human Rights Day of 2022 falls tomorrow (10), in a context where Sri Lanka has far more issues to worry about as far as its human rights situation is concerned than it had to last year.

These human rights-related issues began with the socioeconomic crisis, which prompted the people to take to the streets demanding better living conditions and a more competent and accountable political system. However, they had to deal with a number of human rights violations, including Government-led and backed suppression of dissent, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and assaults on peaceful protestors, which occurred primarily in the context of the anti-Government “aragalaya” movement. In addition, there were many forms of harassment such as the illegal monitoring of the activities of the “aragalaya” activists, muzzling them, and conducting illegal searches. The main culprits in many of these cases are the Government-led law enforcement agencies and the defence forces. 

There is now a spate of protests against human rights violations, especially arbitrary arrests and detentions, with domestic and international criticism against the Government’s conduct, and most importantly, a general loathing among the public against the Government. However, these issues have the potential to lead to further problems, some of which have already become apparent, such as difficulties in obtaining the international support that the country needs.

The economic situation is yet to be restored to normalcy, although it has been stabilised to a greater extent; and a more responsible political system is still to be established although the President and the Government were changed, while the reasons that pushed the people to protest remain more or less the same. What is more, the President and many members of the Government have threatened protestors with strict legal action in the event of another uprising. In this context, people are likely to continue anti-Government protests, and the Government is unlikely to hesitate to curb protests by any means necessary. That is why the threats to human rights are not an issue of 2022 or of the “aragalaya” movement, but a long-term, national-level problem, which requires continued effort in 2023 and beyond. 

While it has already taken many actions that have impacted the people’s human rights, unfortunately, statements such as the one where the President expressed displeasure about the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka intervening to look into harassments by the Police when handling protests, as well as many other statements by members of the Government with regard to the safety and rights of anti-Government protestors, give the impression that the Government is yet to understand that its actions, in fact, have violated the human rights of the country’s citizens. At the same time, the Government continues to claim, including in Parliament, that it respects human rights in various forums.

The Government must understand that it is at the centre of the aforementioned human rights situation, and that pledging to respect human rights on the condition that the people do not go against it is not how human rights are protected or respected. Most importantly, the Government has to understand that its conduct will affect the international community’s trust in Sri Lanka, without which it would be extremely difficult to overcome the economic crisis that the country is facing.