UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet raised concern over increasing human rights violations by state and military officials in Sri Lanka in a UN report published on Wednesday. Bachelet also suggested the imposition of sanctions on military officials in Sri Lanka accused of war crimes and several human rights violations.

The report highlights the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and considers it a contributing factor in hampering the initial progress of democratization in the region, as several military officials accused of war crimes were appointed by the government to enforce quarantine rules in the pandemic. The report further states:

The High Commissioner is alarmed that the space for civil society, including independent media, which had widened in recent years, is rapidly shrinking. The High Commissioner urges the authorities to immediately end all forms of surveillance, including intimidating visits by State agents and harassment against human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, social actors and victims of human rights violations and their families and to refrain from imposing further restrictive legal measures on legitimate civil society activity.

The report recommends member states refer the current situation in Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court and impose sanctions like travel bans on state and military officials suspected of violating human rights.