The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc-André Franche, has met the Minister of Justice and National Integration, Harshana Nanayakkara, to discuss the government’s ongoing rule of law reforms, Ada Derana reported.
In a post on X, Franche said the discussions covered several areas: amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, prison reforms, and the work of the Office on Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations.
The UN in Sri Lanka remains committed to accompany efforts to “strengthen the rule of law with a focus on victims”, he said.
Four files, each already under pressure
The agenda gathers most of the contested items in the justice portfolio into a single meeting.
On the PTA, the government’s stated position has been repeal rather than amendment. Nanayakkara said in June that the Act would be repealed this year and replaced with new legislation then in final drafting. Ada Derana’s account of Thursday’s meeting refers to amendments to the PTA rather than its replacement, and does not say whether the replacement bill has since reached Cabinet or where the drafting stands. The Act remains in use in the meantime, having been applied in detention orders and bail proceedings through this year.
Prison reform has been the most urgent of the four since the Negombo Prison riot in July, in which 31 people died. The UN called for renewed investment in the prison system after that violence.
The Office on Missing Persons completed a verified list of 23,352 missing persons in August after clearing duplicate records — the first consolidated figure the office has published.
Not reported
Ada Derana’s account is drawn from Franche’s own post rather than from a statement by either institution. It does not say where or when the meeting took place, report anything said by Nanayakkara, or record any commitment, timeline or outcome. No agreement or next step is described.
The report was the only account of the meeting carried by a verified newsroom at the time of writing; it did not appear on the NewsFirst, Hiru News, Daily Mirror, Daily FT or EconomyNext listings.
Context
Franche was appointed UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka in 2024 and has engaged repeatedly with the government on recovery and rights questions, including post-Ditwah recovery with the Prime Minister in May. The rule of law file also sits within Sri Lanka’s commitments at the UN Human Rights Council, where the Foreign Minister set out the government’s judicial reform position last month.
