24 June 2025
Delivered by: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk
Distinguished Members of the Government,
Excellencies,
Partners and colleagues,
Friends,
Greetings. Ayubowan. Vanakkam. Assalaamu-Alaikum. I am pleased to be in this beautiful, green island, with its rich tapestry of people, language and faith traditions, and its new hopes for the future.
We meet at an important moment for this country and for the world.
The credibility of international law is being undermined by shocking human rights violations, and by weak and inconsistent advocacy for respect of the law, by States.
As a direct result, the horrific, preventable suffering of civilians in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar and many other countries I could list, is causing deep harm that will reverberate for generations.
Centuries of human experience warn us that without sound laws, violence and destruction will escalate, uncontrolled. Without respect for human rights, the strong do what they will, while the weak suffer oppression.
It is justice, grounded in the equality and rights of every human being, that keeps us safe from unrestrained power, privilege, exploitation and violence.
Or, as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights puts it: “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
That clear, resounding sentence distils a deep wisdom and encapsulates all the spiritual and faith traditions on this planet.
Human rights are the basis of the pathways that lead away from war; away from misery; away from grievances and violence. Human rights open a vista of solutions that deliver more harmonious and equal societies, where people can live in greater peace and freedom. In fact, the UN Charter talks about “in larger freedom”.
In this country, which has suffered so deeply, it is evident how precious peace is, and what is needed to sustain it.
Distinguished guests,
Across the world, it is time for Governments and people everywhere to stand up for the universal values that are the bedrock of good law, sustainable prosperity and lasting peace.
All human beings are born free and equal in rights and dignity. This is the radical aspiration of human rights.
A child in Gaza has exactly the same rights as a child in Israel.
And those rights are also shared, of course, by every person, from every community, in Sri Lanka.
They include the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and participation in decision-making. The rights to be free from discrimination, or the threat of torture. The right to justice and genuine accountability for harms done. The rights to adequate food, health-care and housing – and many more essential economic and social rights that are key to human dignity.
These rights are our due, as human beings. And they are also the essential elements that keep us safe from tyranny and uncontrolled violence.
So in the face of multiplying conflicts and rising misery across the world, I continue to urge all States to energetically and consistently defend those rights, and the agreed international law which springs from them. Rights and law come together.
Excellencies,
In our complex and violent global landscape, there may be lessons for Sri Lanka - and lessons that the world needs to learn from Sri Lanka.
This lovely island is today recovering from decades of division and violence – and dealing also with deep economic crisis.
Sri Lanka is a country of such immense human promise. It has held to its democratic institutions through painful stresses and shocks. It has invested in universal education that has produced generations of young people who are a precious resource for the future.
But today, Sri Lanka is threatened by two traps: the impunity trap, and the inequality trap.
It is for Sri Lankans to find their way out of those traps. I am here to encourage you in that journey. And I want to highlight tonight how human rights can offer pathways for solutions out of these traps – and to overcome the divisions of the past.
First, impunity.
Many States have experienced years of war, internal armed conflict or repression. Some have been able to achieve genuine reconciliation. From a society torn and knotted by violence and division, they have knit a fabric of respect – a social contract that resolves disputes by peaceful means, and preserves harmony through inclusion.
We can look to the efforts, for example, in Northern Ireland, The Gambia, Timor Leste, Liberia, Sierre Leone and Colombia, to cite a few recent examples. But you can of course also look at South Africa, how South Africa has overcome the horrible apartheid regime.
A steady, unwavering focus on the voices and rights of victims – and their families – is essential to this work. Truth commissions and memorialisation are key to transitional justice, together with reparations for victims. But it is also vital to hold to account the perpetrators of the most severe crimes.
Vital for justice. Vital for deterrence.
Vital for the victims who have suffered inconceivable pain and loss.
Vital for the future.
To put an end to the paroxysms of violence that lash out, again and again, shattering nations and lives – and to weave back together a sense of a joint destiny between communities and neighbours – there must be a shared sense of the truth of what has happened, and a shared conviction that justice is being served.
As an Austrian, I understand the challenges of transitional justice. As a child, I often heard that my fellow Austrians were the first victims of Nazis: a comforting lie.
Broadly speaking, it was not until the 1980s – 50 years after the rise of the Nazis – that the people of my country finally faced the truth: that Austrians had also perpetrated hideous crimes – and they needed to be held accountable.
I know that coming to terms with the reality of massacres, terrorism, enforced disappearances, torture or sexual violence is a very painful process.
But when there is no acknowledgment of the crimes inflicted on victims and their families – by all sides - grievances and hostility will fester.
The impunity trap gets deeper.
People will invent revisionist narratives that deny or justify atrocity crimes, and even glorify those responsible.
Commissions and inquiries that lead nowhere, or whose recommendations are never implemented, will erode public trust and compound the trauma for victims.
I want to emphasise this point: an absence of justice will undermine the stability of peace.
Conversely, acknowledging the truth creates the space for justice and reparations – and ultimately, healing.
Accountability and justice, including full acknowledgment of the truth of what was done to people, shape the path to lasting reconciliation.
This in turn is essential to inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. So, we cannot separate one from the other.
Distinguished guests, dear friends,
Let me turn to the second trap: the inequalities and economic misery that are so deeply connected to social divisions – and violence.
Very often, at the origin of the crises that are confronted by the United Nations, we find interlocking violations of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights.
Common to many of them is unbearable economic misery, which leaves people feeling alienated and abandoned, amplifying mistrust.
Conflict and division, in turn, deepens economic breakdown, and creates the opportunities for corruption to further erode trust.
But States can eliminate the discrimination that underpins inequalities. Many have taken important steps in this direction, with immense positive impact in terms of economic growth, educational achievement and prosperity, for everyone.
States can make human rights central to all policies relating to the economy and business – investing in people's access to quality education and healthcare; to universal social protection; to decent work; to food, clean water, sanitation and housing; and to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
These rights build sound economies and healthy societies. In today’s shifting economies, they can bring crucial, life-sustaining assistance that shields people from extreme poverty and assists them to bridge temporary challenges.
Moreover, they are affordable, as many developing nations have demonstrated. The International Labour Organisation has shown that a universal social protection scheme that includes allowances for all children; maternity benefits for all women with newborns; benefits for all people with severe disabilities; and universal old-age pensions will cost an average of 1.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of a developing country. And I hope that in the forthcoming World Social Summit, this will be part and parcel of what will be discussed. And we’ve certainly also learned lessons from the COVID pandemic.
In tandem with these essential aspects of a human rights economy, many States have taken steps to regulate business activities to ensure that they respect human rights across their operations and supply chains.
They have also directly tackled the corruption that steals from the public purse, and from the common good, for private gain and profit.
The United Nations has several programmes to support Governments in these areas.
I also want to emphasise the need for global reforms of the international financial institutions, to free many countries – including Sri Lanka – from the crushing debt burdens that weigh so heavily on human rights investments.
Ministers, colleagues, friends,
My Office has worked in Sri Lanka for 21 years to promote human dignity, justice and rights.
Since the end of the civil war, we have advocated and supported progress towards a more equal society, free of discrimination, with transparent, accountable institutions, and meaningful participation by the people in decision-making and public life. We have offered advice on the reform of problematic laws that have been the source of many violations.
Societies are much more likely to thrive when they welcome different voices – whether those voices are literally speaking different languages, or coming up with different opinions. A broad, free civic space and an independent media are not only a boon in themselves: they are also a major factor in building healthy and resilient economies and institutions.
The full participation of women is also essential to every aspect of society, including economic growth and the work of making and sustaining peace. One major global study found that women’s participation in a peace process increased by 35 percent the probability of a peace agreement lasting 15 years.
Women must have an important role in peacebuilding in Sri Lanka, and in every area of life for that matter, from education to health to representation in parliament. I have noted that the current parliament has a higher quota. Of course, more can be done. It is very good that it goes in this direction. Here, as in every country, my Office will do its utmost to promote the equality and rights of women and girls.
We will also continue our work to advance accountability and promote reconciliation in this country. We have compiled and analysed information and are ready to assist future accountability processes. We have also advised on the key elements of a transitional justice approach. We have supported the strengthening of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka in its independent role, and the engagement of the Government with the United Nations human rights system. And I very much welcome the engagement with us, and the system as a whole.
Some people may think of human rights as a stick brandished from far away.
But human rights are about you, as Sri Lankans. They are about your concerns, your rights, your freedom, your lives.
We bring to this country a mirror. A mirror that may sometimes show an uncomfortable image – as mirrors do – but which reflects back your truth.
It was the aspirations of Sri Lankans for a new, more just society and a more humane social order that brought so many people of all communities, and all walks of life, to the streets in the Aragalaya protests of 2022.
This week I will be discussing with members of the Government, and many diverse stakeholders, how my Office and the wider United Nations can best enhance our cooperation to support the rights of all Sri Lankans, and advance some of the issues that I have raised this evening.
The economic leadership that will promote human rights, and combat inequalities and corruption.
A broad space of fundamental civic freedoms.
And the tough work of truth-telling and accountability.
I am here to support and honour the victims of human rights violations, and to promote measures that can bring reconciliation to the people of this peerlessly beautiful country.
Sri Lanka is at a key moment. This can be a new chapter and a new opportunity. People are full of hope and are looking for genuine commitments from their leaders at all levels of government.
Against a backdrop of deepening global threats, this country can show the world that a society can turn its back on violence, and build a new path towards respect, inclusive prosperity, and peace.
Thank you.