Sri Lanka abstained from voting on a United Nations General Assembly resolution to extend the term of Volker Türk as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for a further four years.
A total of 167 countries participated in the vote. Of these, 144 voted in favour of extending Mr. Türk’s mandate, while 10 countries voted against the resolution. Thirteen countries, including Sri Lanka, abstained. The other abstaining states were Belarus, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Iraq, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, the Republic of Korea, South Sudan, Suriname and Uganda.
The countries that opposed the resolution were Argentina, Burkina Faso, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Israel, Mali, Nicaragua, Niger, the Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.
Mr. Türk became the first UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Sri Lanka since 2016 when he travelled to the country last year at the invitation of the government. Speaking in Parliament, Foreign Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said the invitation had been extended less than a year after the current administration assumed office. Reports indicated that the invitation was formally conveyed during a meeting with Mr. Türk in Geneva in 2024.
During his four-day visit, Mr. Türk travelled to Kandy, Jaffna—including the Chemmani mass grave site—and Trincomalee, where he met with government representatives, civil society organisations and affected communities.
Following the visit, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had provided an opportunity for the High Commissioner to witness firsthand the country’s progress and the government’s commitment to advancing human rights, reconciliation and institutional reform.
In September 2025, Mr. Türk presented his report on Sri Lanka to the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council. While the report acknowledged what it described as a historic opportunity for transformative reforms under the new government, it stressed that commitments must be translated into concrete, measurable actions.
“Sri Lanka has a historic opportunity today to break free from decades of violence and impunity,” the report stated, adding that the government had received a clear mandate for reforms, accountability, truth and justice. However, it warned that this opportunity could be lost without a coherent and time-bound implementation plan.
One of the principal areas of disagreement between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Sri Lankan government remains the OHCHR Sri Lanka Accountability Project (OSLAP), which was established to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence relating to alleged serious violations of international law for future accountability processes. Mr. Türk reiterated his recommendation that the Human Rights Council continue supporting the project, emphasising the importance of preserving evidence.
The Sri Lankan government rejected the recommendation. Addressing the Human Rights Council, Minister Herath said the government opposed “any external mechanism imposed upon us, such as the Sri Lanka Accountability Project,” arguing that such initiatives could create divisions and undermine domestic accountability processes.
For more than 16 years, many Tamil families and advocacy groups have continued to protest and petition the United Nations, calling for international accountability over allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed during and after Sri Lanka’s civil war. The Sri Lankan state has consistently rejected allegations of genocide and maintains that domestic mechanisms are the appropriate avenue for addressing accountability and reconciliation.
