US notes significant human rights issues in Sri Lanka in 2024

The United States noted there were significant human rights issues reported in Sri Lanka in 2024, including credible reports of arbitrary or unlawful killings and torture.

The 2024 Human Rights Report of the U.S. State Department noted that there were reports of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices; arbitrary arrest or detention; transnational repression against individuals in another country; and serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence and threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests of journalists, and censorship.

The report said that the Government in 2024 took minimal steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses.

In September, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) reported a total of seven cases of custodial deaths during the period between January and August.

Police reported 103 targeted shootings throughout the year, a decrease from 120 in 2023.

Meanwhile, the report also said that there were no reports of coerced abortion but civil society reported involuntary sterilization occurred.

Civil society organizations reported involuntary sterilization affected some marginalized communities experiencing acute poverty, especially Tamil plantation workers, when government doctors in state-run hospitals opted for caesareans when delivering babies so that it was possible to perform sterilization at the same time, following consent only from the woman’s husband. They reported these doctors did not always obtain consent from the woman.