Sri Lanka: Freedom of religion or belief

Since three decades of civil war ended in 2009, Sri Lanka has seen an increasing incidence of human rights violations, including of the right to freedom of religion or belief. 103 incidents of religious persecution were recorded in 2013, a 100% increase from 2012, while 111 incidents against Christians were recorded in 2014. The Muslim community in Sri Lanka recorded over 300 incidents of attacks and hate speech between 2013 and 2015.

CSW collected testimonies at the end of November 2014. These testimonies indicated:

• A trend of repeated attacks on the Christian and Muslim community by both Hindus and Buddhists, over 2013 to 2014;
• The lack of justice and the disempowerment of the police in addressing the attacks. Buddhist extremists act with impunity, and there is evidence that local government officials and police are colluding with them in the attacks;
• The existence of a group of moderate Buddhists who believe that there is a need to dialogue and to work with other religious groups to address the effects of the attacks and of the propaganda spread by the extremists;
• The prominent use of media;
• The lack of understanding of the right to freedom of religion or belief: local pastors are intimidated by monks with political connections and government officials, who deliberately misinterpret the law to stop these pastors practising their religion;
• The misuse of power by police and government officials, in regard to places of worship;
• The strong faith of church leaders facing persecution in predominantly Buddhist surroundings.

This report contains key issues of concern, testimonies of victims, and recommendations to the government of Sri Lanka, the EU, the US and the UN, civil society organisations and the media.

Download a PDF of the report. 763KB