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| The front page of the report released by OHCHR today. |
The Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) in Sri Lanka was widespread, systemic, and enabled by institutional failures that remain unaddressed, a comprehensive report from a UN agency found.
The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights of UN which carried out a study under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pursuant to General Assembly resolution 48/141 and Human Rights Council resolutions 46/1, 51/1 and 60/1 found that “despite repeated recommendations by UN bodies and other actors, meaningful reforms have yet to be implemented, and survivors continue to suffer in silence,”
The report which was released by OHCHR today (January 13) examined the enduring trauma inflicted by conflict-related sexual violence in Sri Lanka and the profound impact of impunity on survivors. It draws on more than a decade of UN investigations and reporting, alongside recent consultations with survivors, to outline concrete steps needed to advance accountability.
This Brief adopts a survivor-centred and gender-sensitive approach, combining remote consultations1 with 27 survivors (23 women and 4 men) from all districts, with extensive UN documentation and credible external sources.
While this enabled broad outreach, it also presented inherent limitations, including difficulties in organising participants online, reduced opportunities for direct observation, and challenges in reaching survivors in isolated or marginalised areas who lacked reliable internet access or were reluctant to discuss sensitive experiences through virtual platforms, the report said.
Across all sources, the Brief highlights consistent patterns showing that sexual violence during, and in the aftermath of, the conflict was widespread, systemic, and institutionally enabled, and that accountability has remained largely absent. The Brief also foregrounds what is less visible: the daily reality of impunity for survivors, the trauma they continue to endure, and the lasting social and psychological cost of silence and denial.
CRSV in Sri Lanka must be understood within the country’s broader history of political violence. Documented cases of CRSV date back to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)’S insurrections of 1971 and 1987-1989 and continued throughout the civil war between the Government and the “Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam” (LTTE) (1983-2009). During these periods, sexual violence was widely used, as a method of intimidation, punishment, and control over conflict-affected populations.
After the end of the conflict, impunity, militarization, the use of emergency and extraordinary legal frameworks, and a weakened rule of law have fostered a post-conflict environment in which gender-based violence - including sexual violence - continues to occur, including in contexts linked to the conflict, with alarming impunity.
Survivors and their representatives described an enduring climate of surveillance, intimidation, and harassment, contributing to underreporting, deep stigma, and the near-absence of effective remedies.
In its recommendations, the OHCHR said that the government of Sri Lanka must take immediate and concrete steps to publicly acknowledge past sexual violence committed by State forces and others, issue a formal apology, implement survivor-centred reforms across the security sector, judiciary and legal framework, establish an independent prosecution office, ensure access to psychological and social support, and operationalize commitments made under previous UN resolutions. “Genuine political will is needed to demonstrate tangible progress in translating these long-standing recommendations into practice and fulfilling the State’s international obligations.”
The full report can be accessed here
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