Collected photo

GENEVA, Aug 13, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The UN human rights chief Wednesday urged 
Sri Lanka's new government to seize the "historic opportunity" to end its 
entrenched culture of impunity for war crimes and other abuses.

In a report on the battle-scarred nation, the UN High Commissioner for Human 
Rights, Volker Turk, said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's government had 
a chance to restore Sri Lanka's image.

"Today, an opportunity presents itself for Sri Lanka to break from the past, 
with the leadership pledging a fresh direction on long-standing issues," Turk 
said in the 16-page report to the Human Rights Council.

It noted that the new leftist president had publicly recognised the shared 
pain and grief of individuals from all communities in Sri Lanka affected by 
decades of conflict.

"It is important to build on this momentum and to translate it into tangible 
results for accountability in the form of truth-telling, justice, 
reparations, and non-recurrence, as necessary to end impunity and provide for 
healing and closure."

Turk said the process should start with a clear and formal acknowledgement of 
the violations, abuses and crimes that occurred, including during the civil 
war that ended in May 2009.

He urged the international community to support Colombo's new efforts, but 
also warned that should Sri Lanka fail to deliver on its promises, they must 
exercise universal jurisdiction to prosecute war criminals.

UN reports have accused Sri Lankan troops of killing at least 40,000 Tamil 
civilians in the final months of the fighting, a charge successive 
governments have denied.

The crushing of the Tamil Tiger guerrilla leadership 16 years ago brought an 
end to 37 years of conflict that claimed at least 100,000 lives on all sides.

Sri Lanka's successive governments have also refused to allow an independent 
investigation into allegations of war crimes committed by its own troops or 
its warring partner, the Tamil Tigers.

Turk visited Sri Lanka last month and held talks with Dissanayake as well as 
civil society representatives, and also travelled to regions ravaged by war.

"As I witnessed first-hand during my visit to Sri Lanka, the pain and 
suffering of victims remains palpable, and their demands for truth and 
justice must be addressed."

He also welcomed pledges to repeal the dreaded Prevention of Terrorism Act, 
establish an independent public prosecutor, and investigate emblematic cases, 
including the 2009 assassination of anti-establishment editor Lasantha 
Wickrematunge.

The report also highlighted the deep social impact of the country's economic 
crisis in 2022, with poverty rates nearly doubling since 2019 and 
malnutrition rising sharply among children.