Sri Lanka

Key Results

With UNDP support, the Legal Aid Commission established 14 legal aid clinics to enable more people to access legal aid services. The funding from UNDP’s Global Programme for Strengthening the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Justice and Security for Sustainable Development (the Global Programme) was catalytic as it gave an impetus to legal awareness and legal aid interventions funded by the European Union (EU).

The EU funding and UNDP's technical support played a key role in protecting victims and witnesses in Sri Lanka. Overall, 189 witnesses (including 63 women) received protection services from the National Authority for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses in 2023. To ensure accountability for human rights violations and to protect victims and witnesses, an option to testify remotely was provided for victims reluctant to return to Sri Lanka to provide evidence for fear of reprisals or intimidation. As a result, 15 victims or witnesses were able to safely give testimony in court from undisclosed locations.

UNDP and the EU provided crucial assistance to the Human Rights Commission, bolstering its capacity to conduct inquiries across the island, offering technical support for swift identification of victims and perpetrators, and establishing a sustainable evidence repository.

UNDP’s technical assistance and advocacy efforts for youth involvement led to the creation of a Parliamentary Caucus for Youth and youth participation in Parliamentary Sectoral Committees. Over 500 young people (including 263 young women) were assigned to the committees, fostering greater public participation and youth engagement in line with the open parliament concept.

Sri Lanka's socio-political environment in 2023 was turbulent and complex, compounded by the severe economic crisis that began in 2022. The crisis context led to an influx in allegations on human rights, corruption, restrictions on freedom of expression and excessive use of force to curtail public protests. The socio-economic crisis further strained the justice system with the need for adequate legal aid and victim protection amplifying. However, against the backdrop of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, the government has undertaken a series of governance reforms that strengthen systems for economic governance – including oversight, anti-corruption and rule of law.

In this context, the support from UNDP’s Global Programme for Strengthening the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Justice and Security for Sustainable Peace and Development (the Global Programme) was necessary to assist the government stakeholders in implementing their mandate and leaving no one behind. UNDP improved inter-institutional coordination among the Legal Aid Commission (LAC), Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) and the National Victim and Witness Protection Authority (NVWPA). The institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding that enabled urgent effective responses amidst the crisis situation in Sri Lanka, as well the longer-term positive effects on the human rights situation and protection of victims and witnesses. For example, as a result of joint advocacy, a court order was issued prohibiting media to disclose the identity of victims and/or witnesses. This protection measure encouraged many witnesses to come forward to testify. This, in turn, sped up the investigations and the conclusion of cases, preventing case backlogs. 

The project continued to expand the scope of criminal legal aid provided by the Legal Aid Commission beyond processing bail applications. With UNDP support, the Legal Aid Commission expanded its outreach and visibility, and established 14 legal aid clinics to enable more people to access legal aid. Through the legal clinics 1,151 people (including 1,046 women) received legal support. Notably, the funding from the Global Programme was catalytic as it gave an impetus to legal awareness and legal aid interventions funded by the European Union (the EU). 

UNDP facilitated workshops for judicial officers covering such areas as victim and witness protection, bail and sentencing, civil appeal and pre-trial procedures. Over 200 judicial officers (including 40 women) participated in the workshops which brought tangible changes with a longer-term effect on justice administration in Sri Lanka. In particular, the law that protects victims and witnesses was repealed in 2023 and a new law, The Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act, was introduced to increase the compensation for victims and to balance the power of the magistrate in deciding the value of compensation. 

To ensure accountability for human rights violations and to protect victims and witnesses, an option to testify remotely was provided for victims reluctant to return to Sri Lanka to provide evidence for fear of reprisals or intimidation. The EU funding and UNDP's technical support played a key role in protecting victims and witnesses in Sri Lanka. As a result, 15 victims or witnesses were able to safely give testimony in court from undisclosed locations in 2023. Overall, 189 witnesses (including 63 women) received protection services from the National Authority for the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses.

Widespread public protests in Sri Lanka provoked excessive use of force by law enforcement authorities resulting in a surge of human rights violation complaints received by the Human Rights Commission (HRC). While the HRC is obligated to investigate these claims independently, the lack of government funding hampered their ability to conduct timely field inquiries. Under the rule of law project, UNDP and the EU provided crucial assistance to the HRC, bolstering its capacity to conduct inquiries and investigations across the island, offering technical support to analyse video evidence for swift identification of victims and perpetrators, and establishing a sustainable evidence repository. These combined efforts ensured the HRC could effectively respond to the influx of complaints and indirectly contribute to minimizing the backlog of cases. 

In addition, UNDP supported the HRC in conducting a Pulse Survey on the impact of the Economic Crisis on Women's Rights. By adopting an evidence-based approach, the survey generated recommendations on how to improve the HRC's effectiveness, responsiveness and accountability with regards to the needs of women affected by the crisis. The recommendations stemming from this survey will be publicly available upon its publication in June 2024.

UNDP’s technical assistance enabled the Parliament of Sri Lanka to take steps towards economic recovery, especially through improving its capacities on financial oversight and promoting youth participation. With UNDP’s support, guidelines were developed for the restructuring of 17 sectoral oversight committees and six financial oversight committees. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on youth engagement in sectoral oversight committees was designed and presented to the parliamentary secretariat for adoption. Over 500 young people (including 263 young women) were assigned to the committees, fostering greater public participation and youth engagement in line with an open parliament concept.

To further increase public engagement in parliamentary oversight committees, UNDP facilitated live broadcasting of committee proceedings, including in sign language.

To fine-tune Sri Lanka’s procedures for the effective realization of the right to information, UNDP organized a study visit to Nepal for Sri Lanka’s Right to Information Commission. The key outcomes of the mission include the finalization of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Information Commissions of Nepal and Sri Lanka, preliminary talks to form a South Asian Alliance of Information Commissioners and the identification of common obstacles to strengthening the right to information in both countries.  

Lessons learned and good practices

To ensure accessibility of legal aid and awareness sessions, UNDP mitigated communication challenges which could adversely impact the engagement with marginalized population. UNDP analyzed the diversity of the audience and addressed the language barriers and literacy issues to improve the communication outcomes. Multilingual communication materials were developed increasing accessibility and comprehension.   Positive outcomes of the rule of law project supported through the Global Programme, especially its collaborative approach with stakeholders, contributed to strengthened collaborations under the Justice Reform (JURE) Programme funded by the European Union. This demonstrates how partnerships are being leveraged to expand efforts in promoting the rule of law. 

Advocacy efforts emphasizing the importance of youth involvement led to the creation of a Parliamentary Caucus for Youth and youth participation in parliamentary sectoral committees. This serves as a tangible commitment from the government to promote the rule of law through active youth participation. This also demonstrates a shift towards a more inclusive and youth-centric justice system, providing a springboard for future projects promoting rule of law and youth engagement.

Looking forward

The victim and witness protection initiatives will be leveraged to develop a comprehensive judicial development programme, building upon improved capacities within the justice system.

UNDP will keep the momentum going to promote the rule of law and improve human rights protection through its development work with other partners and donors. The lessons learnt will be used to support future project activities to better cater to the needs of people living in Sri Lanka.