Media StatementĀ
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA ā June 2026 ā The Right to Life Human Rights Centre has formally submitted a comprehensive briefing to the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT). The submission exposes entrenched patterns of police torture, the strategic weaponization of restrictive detention laws, and systemic failures within Sri Lanka’s judicial architecture.
Drawing from over 23 years of grassroots advocacy, R2Lās submission details how state-inflicted violence remains a systemic issue rather than a series of isolated incidents.
Key Findings Highlighted in the Submission:
Weaponization of Detention Laws:Ā Law enforcement authorities increasingly exploit the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Section 54 of the Poisons, Opium, and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. These laws are used to bypass standard judicial safeguards and deny bail, keeping suspects in prolonged remand custody, where they are highly vulnerable to severe physical and mental abuse.
Endemic Police Torture:Ā Physical and psychological torture continue to be utilized as primary investigative tools to extract confessions, rather than law enforcement relying on forensic or scientific evidence.
Failure of the 1994 Torture Act:Ā R2Lās recent campaign highlights the critical underutilization of the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act, No. 22 of 1994. Data retrieved by R2L from the Attorney Generalās Department reveal extreme discrepancies and a severe lack of institutional will to prosecute perpetrators criminally.
Severe Court Delays and Meagre Compensation:Ā Torture survivors routinely face legal delays spanning over a decade, often to receive severely inadequate compensation that fails to account for lifelong trauma, disability, or loss of livelihood.
Grassroots Evidence
Through its nationwide network of 24 Human Rights First Aid Centres (HRFACs) across 19 districts, R2L documented and responded to more than 1,800 human rights violations over the past two years alone. To strengthenĀ frontline reporting, R2L is developing new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to train over 500 Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in secure, medically accurate documentation of torture.
Urgent Recommendations to the State Party:
R2L has urged the UN SPT to demand immediate accountability and legal reforms from the Government of Sri Lanka, including:
- Active criminal prosecution of torturers under Act No. 22 of 1994.
- Immediate reform of the PTA and drug laws to prevent prolonged, arbitrary remand.
- The abolition of the restrictive 30-day time limit to file Fundamental Rights petitions.
- Mandating unerasable CCTV surveillance in all police stations and compulsory body-worn cameras for arresting officers.
Read the Full Submission: The complete text of the submission, including statistical annexures of regional torture reports and correspondence with the Attorney General’s Department, is available for review in the attached file:Ā ‘Submission to the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.pdf’