UN Report Urges Accountability for Conflict Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka

A report published by the UN Human Rights Office highlights that conflict-related sexual violence in Sri Lanka remains largely unaddressed, with survivors continuing to be denied justice more than a decade after the end of the conflict.

Titled “We lost everything, even hope for justice,” the report is based on ten years of monitoring by the UN Human Rights Office, alongside extensive consultations with survivors, gender-based violence experts, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders.

The report concludes that Sri Lanka must urgently follow through on its commitments to domestic accountability and undertake transformative reforms, with particular attention to conflict-related sexual violence.

It finds that the lack of accountability, acknowledgment, and reparations for serious human rights violations and wartime crimes has created a legacy of impunity that continues to shape survivors’ lives. Many victims continue to suffer chronic physical injuries, infertility, psychological trauma, and suicidal thoughts.

Survivors and their representatives described an enduring climate of surveillance, intimidation, and harassment, which contributes to under-reporting, deep stigma, and the near absence of effective remedies.

Sexual violence during conflict constitutes a serious violation of international law and may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity. Sri Lanka is legally obligated under multiple international treaties to prevent, investigate, and prosecute such violations and to provide reparations to survivors.

The report highlights how militarisation and emergency legal frameworks contributed to an environment in which gender-based violence, including sexual violence, continued even after the conflict ended in 2009.

Beyond the brutality of the abuses described, including rape, sexual mutilation, forced nudity, and public humiliation, survivors said the violence was intended to cause lasting trauma and fracture communities. One survivor described sexual violence as “a torture that never stops.”

Stigma has also extended to survivors’ families, with children born of rape facing discrimination and social exclusion. Many communities remain fractured by silence, fear, and unresolved trauma.

The report calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to publicly acknowledge past sexual violence committed by State forces and others, issue a formal apology, and implement survivor-centred reforms across the security sector, judiciary, and legal framework. It also recommends establishing an independent prosecution office and ensuring access to psychological and social support.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that recognition, truth, accountability, and reparations are essential to restoring dignity to survivors and advancing reconciliation and healing in Sri Lanka.