HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, Annual Report 2020 State of Human Rights in Sri Lanka 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic with its unprecedented challenges set the tone for the human rights situation in Sri Lanka in 2020. While some areas of human rights showed improvement, an overall shrinking of democratic ideals and democratic spaces for citizens to exercise vigil over government actions was witnessed during the year. At the beginning of the year, Sri Lanka withdrew its support for resolutions 30/1, 34/1, and 40/1 of the UN Human Rights Council on post-conflict transitional justice, accountability, and reconciliation with a commitment to establish domestic mechanisms. Thereafter, the President dissolved the Parliament in March 2020 with the intention of holding the elections in April, which was postponed twice due to the Pandemic. As a result, many of the COVID19 responses during May-August eluded Parliamentary scrutiny and oversight, instead being implemented through presidential taskforces. Next, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission received complaints and expressions of concern from persons of various religions including Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists against the government policy mandating cremations for all COVID-19 deaths, despite World Health Organization guidelines permitting burials. The performance of final religious rites such as those performed at burial ceremonies is sacrosanct for certain religions and a form of manifestation of religion or beliefs which cannot be restricted except according to Constitutional and international human rights obligations. HRCSL made recommendations to the government on this issue which urged the government to retract the policy. Thereafter, in October 2020, the newly elected Government which had a two thirds majority in the house, passed the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which removed some of the important checks and balances introduced by the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and extended executive power in respect of appointments to the judiciary and independent Commissions. As it did at the Presidential Election of 2019, the Commission focused extensively on the right to exercise franchise in an inclusive manner during the Parliamentary Election held in August 2020. Similar to 2019, HRCSL made interventions to ensure all registered voters were able to cast their votes, including recommending the state to provide for special allowances to guarantee the right to vote of persons with disabilities or with special needs and 11