The continuing violence and political tension resulting from the long-standing civil war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) obstructs the activities of human rights defenders in Sri Lanka. Freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association are limited. Human rights organisations and journalists are targeted.

The human rights community includes journalists highlighting human rights abuses by the authorities and womens’ rights activists campaigning against sexual violence in internally displaced people (IDP) camps. Major barriers to human rights activities are the State of Emergency declared by the government in August 2005 and the Emergency (Prevention and Prohibition of Terrorism and Specified Terrorist Activities) Regulations which came into force on 5 December 2006. These have resulted in an increasing criminalization of human rights defense activities and impose severe limits on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association. The Regulations introduce broad and ill-defined terrorism-related crimes, which can carry between 5 and 20 years in prison. Under the Regulations:

• conduct which “disrupts or threatens public order” and which is aimed at “compelling the government of Sri Lanka to do or abstain from doing any act” may constitute terrorism. Thus, the organization of a peaceful demonstration against the government could constitute a proscribed terrorist act.
• organisations providing aid and assistance to areas of the country under the control of the LTTE require pre-authorisation from the authorities, with no independent review of such decisions.
• no action may be taken against any official acting in good faith and in the exercise of his functions, reinforcing the impunity enjoyed by the police and armed forces.

Defenders have reportedly been subjected to intimidation and anonymous death threats, stigmatization, restrictions on movement, arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention without access to legal advice and ill-treatment and torture in police custody. The escalation of conflict since July 2006 has resulted in an intensification of attacks on humanitarian workers and human rights defenders. Extra-judicial killings by Sri Lankan security forces and disappearances have been reported.