five individuals

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2024-102-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2024
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 7.87305399999999

Longitude: 80.7717969999999

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Sri Lanka
From Region
Type of record
Unnamed individual/group/organization
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity
  1. The concerned individuals, some of whom had been allegedly harassed by state security officials in the past, are all from the North and East regions of the country and work on post-conflict-related issues such as enforced disappearances, land-related conflicts, etc.
Type of rights defended
  • Civil/political rights
  • Land rights/environment
  • Other
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

All of them, except one, had travelled to Geneva and engaged with a range of United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms, including treaty bodies, special procedures mandate holders, and OHCHR staff.

Engagement with UN body
  • OHCHR: OHCHR - General
  • UN Special Procedures: thematic
  • UN Treaty Bodies: UN Treaty Bodies - General
Type of attempted engagement
  • Participation in meeting on UN premises
  • Unclear
Location of mentioned reprisals
Sri Lanka
Reprisal information

The nature of the harassment and intimidation included visits to individuals’ private homes, phone calls and summons by State security officials to question them about their advocacy trips to Geneva, including who had paid for those trips and what the purpose was of their travel. Some of the individuals were subjected to public vilification campaigns in relation to their engagement with international actors, including the United Nations.

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Charge/Investigation/Prosecution - General
  • Defamation / Defamation campaign
  • Surveillance
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
No
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No