Elections in Sri Lanka brought about momentous changes after nearly a decade of increasingly autocratic rule. In January 2015, President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government, in power since 2006, lost to a united opposition front led by Maithripala Sirisena, a former health minister. In August, Ranil Wickramsinghe, longtime leader of the largest opposition party, was elected prime minister.

The new government quickly abolished surveillance and censorship of media and civil society groups, embarked on constitutional reforms to restrict executive powers, and took steps to restore the independence of the judiciary. In contrast to the combative approach of the Rajapaksa government, it also initiated a new, more open dialogue with the international community, including human rights organizations.

However, the government took no significant measures to end impunity for security force abuse, including police use of torture. At time of writing, the government also had not yet repealed the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), despite promises to do so, and continued to detain people under it. Following a sustained hunger strike by an estimated 200 PTA detainees, the government in November released some on bail, sent others for rehabilitation, and pledged to charge and try the rest.

In August, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a scathing report on abuses committed by all sides during Sri Lanka's 1983-2009 armed conflict with the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The report, which was mandated by a March 2014 Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution on Sri Lanka, documented credible accounts of unlawful attacks, killings, enforced disappearances, torture, sexual violence, and attacks on humanitarian assistance .

Following the report, HRC member states endorsed a resolution calling on the Sri Lankan government to implement the report's many recommendations, including to establish a special counsel to investigate and prosecute alleged wartime abuses, and to include foreign judges and prosecutors in a Sri Lankan tribunal.

The government began to investigate some emblematic cases of serious human rights violations during the conflict, including the killing and enforced disappearance of journalists.

Constitutional Reforms

In June, the new government brought in the 19th amendment to the constitution. It places new checks on the power of the executive and seeks to restore the independence of police, judicial, human rights, and election commissions. Although the amendment was not as far-reaching as initially proposed, it limits the presidential term and increases the powers of the prime minister.