Human Security in Post-War Sri Lanka: Challenges and Opportunities for Accountability and Governance Reform

Abstract

With its decades-long separatist agenda and its consistent failures to achieve sustainable human security, Sri Lanka has always been on the brink of a crisis. The 2022 devastating economic crisis is merely a culmination of the years of this agenda, corruption and the failure to achieve accountability and human security. Indeed, this economic crisis has underscored the indivisibility of human rights in the country. This paper’s main aim is to evaluate some of the most important factors contributing to human insecurity in post-conflict Sri Lanka. It does so with the intent of analysing the challenges and recommending opportunities for human security. In addition, this paper examines the academic evidence for the role that accountability can play as part of a spectrum of interventions linking redress, peacebuilding, and reconciliation to human security. This examination derives from a desktop review of the current literature by searching multiple databases to identify relevant academic publications, books, journal articles, programme evaluations, and other influential sources, including data from peer-reviewed journals. The main finding of this paper is that the failure to address pre- and post-war issues can be attributed to the country’s governance system failing to identify human security as a high priority. This article will consequently analyse some of the greatest threats to human security. The resultant discussions will provide recommendations for opportunities to address human rights challenges in the country.