HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, Annual Report 2019 Message of the chairperson The year 2019, as in the previous year, saw positive developments in the general human rights situation in the country seriously marred by sectarian violence. Sectarian violence targeting the Muslim community in the Teldeniya and Digana towns in the Kandy District in March, 2018 framed the human rights situation that year, despite expanding democratic space for free expression, assembly and association and other positive developments on human rights in Sri Lanka. Page Responding to human rights issues stemming from the events in April was the main focus of the HRCSL during the reporting year. The Commission was committed to handling the emerging issues in an even handed manner ensuring that all aggrieved parties were provided protection. It was also clear that a multi-pronged approach had to be adopted. The Commission monitored the rehabilitation of victims of the bombings while it also monitored the rights of hundreds taken into 3 Similarly, the horror of the April 21 (Easter Sunday) terror attacks against civilians engaged in worship and its violent aftermath dominated and defined the 2019 human rights agenda. It overshadowed growing public faith in democratic institutions and in the possibility of vindicating rights through peaceful means. The unanimous Supreme Court judgment delivered at the tail end of 2018 had resolved a serious constitutional crisis through the Rule of Law. The Right to Information regime introduced in 2016 was increasingly being resorted to by the citizenry. Public engagement with the Human Rights Commission was strong. Yet, the events of 2018 and 2019 proved that without meaningfully addressing the fractious nature of inter-community relations in the country, Sri Lanka could not move forward toward a steady and stable human rights record. In fact, the events of April, 2019 and its aftermath saw a sea change in the political discourse with renewed calls for a shift to a national security paradigm in governance and efforts to legitimize majoritarianism. 3