The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has demanded an immediate halt to the continuous surveillance and harassment of women human rights defenders by state intelligence agencies, calling for urgent gender-sensitive policing reforms.
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has issued a stern condemnation regarding the persistent harassment, surveillance, and rights violations directed at women human rights defenders operating in the country’s Northern and Eastern Provinces. In a formal statement released by the HRCSL, the Commission highlighted a deeply concerning pattern of intimidation orchestrated by state security apparatuses, drawing international attention back to the systemic struggles faced by activists in post-conflict zones.
A Climate of Fear and Intimidation
According to the HRCSL, women dedicating their lives to critical grassroots issues – such as advocating for disappeared persons, resolving land disputes, supporting women-headed households, and championing community welfare – are being systematically targeted. Law enforcement officials, particularly personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Counter Terrorism Investigation Division (CTID), have been implicated as the primary perpetrators of this intimidation.
Activists report a daily reality marked by unwarranted surveillance and aggressive psychological pressure. The Commission documented numerous complaints involving unannounced visits to activists’ homes and workplaces, frequent and disruptive phone calls, and repeated summons for questioning. These heavy-handed tactics are reportedly designed not to enforce the law, but to suppress civil society engagement and instil a pervasive climate of fear among those who dare to speak out against state narratives.
Gendered Harassment and Stigma
The methodology of this surveillance has distinct and damaging gendered impacts. The HRCSL raised significant alarm over the fact that interrogations and investigations are predominantly – and sometimes exclusively – carried out by male officers. In the conservative communities of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, the persistent presence of male security personnel at the homes of female activists generates severe social stigma and isolation.
The Commission’s findings reveal a disturbing lack of empathy and procedural safeguards for vulnerable individuals. In some of the most egregious cases documented, even pregnant women were summoned for rigorous police questioning while enduring difficult physical circumstances. This lack of basic decency not only endangers the health and safety of the women involved but also serves as a stark warning to other female activists about the severe personal costs of human rights advocacy in Sri Lanka.
The Broader Context of Enforced Disappearances
The harassment of women human rights defenders cannot be viewed in isolation from Sri Lanka’s dark history of civil conflict. The nation grapples with one of the world’s highest rates of unresolved enforced disappearances, with estimates suggesting that tens of thousands of individuals vanished during periods of political violence and the decades-long civil war that ended in 2009.
The majority of the women activists being targeted today are the mothers, wives, and sisters of the forcibly disappeared. For years, these women have led relentless campaigns demanding truth, justice, and accountability for their missing loved ones. International watchdogs, including Human Rights Watch and the United Nations, have repeatedly corroborated the HRCSL’s claims, noting that successive Sri Lankan administrations have utilized draconian legislation like the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to justify the ongoing surveillance of these grieving families. Despite government pledges to international bodies regarding institutional reform, the ground reality for these minority communities remains unchanged. By criminalizing their pursuit of justice, state agencies cruelly compound the trauma of the affected communities.
Violations of Fundamental Freedoms
The actions of the CID and CTID represent a direct assault on democratic principles and constitutional guarantees. The HRCSL explicitly warned that the current trajectory of state surveillance violates a spectrum of basic freedoms. These include the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and the right to engage in lawful employment without undue interference. Recent incidents, where activists face police summons for simply attending memorialization events or speaking to international bodies, illustrate how deeply these freedoms are compromised.
Furthermore, the continuous psychological pressure and social weaponization of police investigations border on cruel and degrading treatment. Human rights advocates argue that these tactics breach international human rights conventions to which Sri Lanka is a signatory. When the state apparatus is mobilized to silence civil society rather than protect it, the fundamental pillars of the rule of law are undermined, rendering the concept of post-war reconciliation virtually impossible.
Demands for Urgent Police Reforms
In response to the escalating crisis, the HRCSL has issued a direct and urgent appeal to the government and the Inspector General of Police (IGP). The Commission is demanding an immediate cessation of all unnecessary and legally baseless surveillance of women human rights defenders.
To combat the specific gendered harms caused by current practices, the HRCSL has strongly recommended the implementation of strict gender-sensitive policing protocols. A central pillar of this reform includes the urgent recruitment and deployment of more female officers within both the CID and the CTID. By ensuring that female activists are interviewed by female officers in safe, appropriate environments, the state can mitigate the intentional social stigma currently being weaponized against them.
Finally, the Commission is calling for the provision of proper protection mechanisms and legal remedies for the women whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted by state harassment.
