Since 1979, successive Sinhalese-Buddhist Sri Lankan governments have committed enforced disappearances and torture against tens of thousands of Tamils in total.

Impunity reigns for both individual and state responsibility. No alleged Sri Lankan government perpetrators have been held responsible for torture or other international crimes committed against Tamils during the island’s 26-year-long internal armed conflict. Nor has Sri Lanka been held responsible for any violations of its human rights treaty obligations before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

PEARL and the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project’s joint briefing paper describes Sri Lankan security forces’ historical and ongoing torture and unresolved enforced disappearances of Tamils, Sri Lanka’s lack of political will to deliver justice and accountability for Tamil victims, and challenges to holding individuals responsible via the International Criminal Court or universal jurisdiction. Recognizing these challenges, in 2024 and again in 2025, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recommended that States “[c]onsider using other international legal options to advance accountability in Sri Lanka,” including via relevant human rights treaties providing for proceedings before the ICJ. The Convention against Torture is one such treaty.

This joint briefing paper explains the value of holding Sri Lanka responsible under the Convention against Torture, especially before the ICJ, and the urgent need for a State Party or States Parties to bring torture claims now.