UN Human Rights experts have expressed concern over the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka, appealing for support from the international community.
“Sri Lanka’s economic collapse needs immediate global attention, not just from humanitarian agencies but from international financial institutions, private lenders, and other countries that must come to the country’s aid,” they stated on Wednesday.
The group of mine experts has expressed dismay over the growing inflation, rising prices of commodities, fuel crisis , power shortages as the country is under political turmoil.
The law functionaries elected six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as Sri Lanka’s President on Wednesday.
Former Prime Minister Gotabaya Rajapakasa resigned last week after fleeing the country as the protests outraged and broke into the government buildings in Colombo. Sri Lanka has convulsed into violent protests due to a shortage of basic amenities like food, fuel, medicine, and other commodities.
In the opinion of the experts, the crisis is severely affecting human rights in Sri Lanka. People with illnesses and those in need of life assistance are experiencing shortages of food and healthcare amenities.
The UN expert on foreign debt and human rights, Attiya Waris, said, “Time and again, we have seen the grave systemic repercussions a debt crisis has had on countries, exposing deep structural gaps of the global financial system, and affecting the implementation of human rights.”
She further added, “Any response towards mitigating the economic crisis should have human rights at its core, including in the context of negotiation with the IMF.”
The issue of Lanka’s growing institutional debt was flagged earlier in 2029 in a report issued after the expert visit. The report found that repaying the debt is the country’s largest expenditure. The experts held the government responsible for deepening the crisis with its botched agricultural policies.