HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, Annual Report 2018 in order to stop the proliferation of hate speech on social media were an imposition on the freedom of expression and right to information of the people. While understanding the need and appreciating the swift actions on the part of the authorities to curb hate speech, the Commission was of the view that the authorities should, in the future, strike a better balance between dealing with hate speech and the fundamental rights of the people to freedom of expression and access to information. The Commission also reiterates the urgent need to take legal action against those who use social media to propagate communal hatred and incite sectarian violence. Of the complaints received during the year, those relating to the infringement of personal liberty were the highest. Interestingly, while remaining the second and third highest number of complaints received, the year saw a considerable decrease in the number of complaints relating to the inaction of government authorities by 28% from the previous year and a dramatic decrease in Employment related complaints from 1294 to 701(a decrease of 46%). Complaints against violations of both education related rights such as admissions to schools, and land and property rights, which usually accounts for a sizable proportion of the complaints received within the year, too have declined in numbers from 2017 (from 614 in 2017 to 455 in 2018 and from 476 in 2017 to 263 in 2018 respectively). Although it is difficult to point to precise reasons for the drop in these numbers it could the fact that the public is aware of the Commission’s policy of referring complaints that do not directly fall within its mandate to other appropriate institutions for redress. The number of complaints in relation to the violation of other civil and political rights such as the freedoms of expression, association, and assembly dropped by almost half from 2017. This may, as observed in previous Annual Reports, be due to the continued expansion of democratic spaces for these freedoms to be exercised without restrictions. 13