The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has urged the U.S. Department of State to place Sri Lanka on the Special Watch List for 2023 and 2024 due to escalating religious persecution, particularly against Christians.
“Religious freedom remains a persistent issue in Sri Lanka,” the commission said in its June 2024 report that described Sri Lanka as a “shrinking space for religious minorities.”
According to the USCIRF, Sri Lankan Christians are increasingly facing governmental and societal challenges, including severe restrictions on obtaining church building permits and a rise in harassment and anti-Christian sentiment online.
These conditions starkly contrast with the nation’s constitutional guarantee of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, which simultaneously accords Buddhism a predominant status.
“The government’s continued use of problematic laws to detain religious minorities and their advocates, tolerance of hate speech, and enforcement of unequal and opaque standards regarding places of worship all contribute to a challenging environment for religious minorities,” the report read.
The report highlighted the direct involvement of state mechanisms in the persecution. It noted that the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka documented 43 instances of intimidation and violence against Christian pastors and congregations in 2023.
This number, though lower than the 80 cases reported in 2022, still paints a grim picture of the challenges faced by the Christian community, including police complicity and inaction in incidents of intimidation and attacks, particularly by Buddhist groups.
According to USCIRF, its recommendation for the designation aims to draw international attention to the plight of Christians in Sri Lanka and to encourage the U.S. to take diplomatic and policy measures to support the Sri Lankan government in addressing these religious freedom violations.
The U.S. Department of State, in its International Religious Freedom Report 2023, also echoed concerns over the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka, underscoring the need for continued monitoring and intervention to uphold the rights of religious minorities in the country.
