Overview

Overview

Sri Lanka has ratified all the main UN International Human Rights Conventions. No reservations have been lodged with respect to these treaties.

Sri Lanka has engaged with the Committees of each of these conventions. The reports to these Committees, according to periodic reviews, are available in the following tabs.

On 05 December 2017, Sri Lanka acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), its most recent commitment. The OPCAT came into force on 04 January 2018. The main objective of the Optional Protocol is to establish a system of regular visits to be undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places of detention.

TreatyDate of SignatureDate of Ratification/Accession(a)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 1966 11 Jun 1980 (a)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966 11 June 1980 (a)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 197917 July 198005 October 1981
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), 1984 03 January 1994 (a)
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 198926 January 199012 July 1991
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, (ICMW), 1990 11 Mar 1996 (a)
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED), 200610 December 201525 May 2016
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)  08 February 2016
Optional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement of children in armed conflict, 200021 August 200008 September 2000
Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography, 200008 May 200222 September 2006
Optional Protocol to ICCPR, concerning individual petition, 1966  03 October 1997
Optional Protocol to CEDAW, concerning individual complaints and inquiry procedures, 1999 05 October 2002
Optional Protocol to CAT, concerning regular visits by national and international institutions to places of detention, 2002 05 December 2017

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