Sri Lanka’s Attorney General’s Department is preparing a detailed response to the latest report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which accuses the Attorney General’s Office of being a major obstacle to justice and calls for the creation of an independent prosecution authority.
An official from the Attorney General’s Department confirmed that the draft is being prepared in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This response will form part of the government’s broader reply to the critical observations made in the report by UN High Commissioner Volker Turk, which is scheduled to be tabled at the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in September.
The UN High Commissioner’s report, published online on Tuesday, argued that Sri Lanka’s justice system suffers from deep flaws. It pointed to the broad discretion held by the Attorney General to prosecute, reluctance to act on unconfirmed evidence, weak investigative capacity of the police, lack of qualified forensic experts and the shortage of Tamil-speaking officers as factors that hinder access to justice. These issues, the report said, allow impunity to persist for victims of serious human rights violations.
In response, the government has reiterated its commitment to reform. In its policy statement, it pledged to establish a Directorate of Public Prosecutions that will function independently from the Attorney General’s Department. An expert committee has already been appointed to examine the proposal, with preliminary drafts being prepared. The government has also promised that feedback on the concept paper will be sought from the public, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and civil society groups.
During his visit to Sri Lanka in June, Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk met Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe directly, underlining the urgency of the concerns raised. The upcoming session in Geneva is expected to see renewed international scrutiny on Colombo’s human rights record and the role of its prosecutorial system.
