Mon Sep 08 08:06:17 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text, suitable for “The Hindu” and focusing on the Sri Lankan perspective:

**Sri Lanka Rejects International Intervention on Human Rights at UNHRC**

*Colombo, September 8, 2025* – Sri Lanka has firmly opposed international intervention in its human rights situation, voicing its concerns at the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. The Sri Lankan government argues that such external actions undermine ongoing domestic efforts aimed at achieving justice and reconciliation.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath is scheduled to address the Council, responding to a report published in August by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights following a visit to Sri Lanka by U.N. rights chief Volker Turk in June. The Foreign Ministry released a statement asserting that “external initiatives will only serve as hindrances to the ongoing national efforts and serve to polarise the population.” Mr. Herath is expected to call on the Council to provide the space required to implement transformative reforms outlined in the OHCHR report.

The U.N. report urged Sri Lanka to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and implement key human rights reforms, including a moratorium on the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), amendments to laws curtailing freedom of expression like the Online Safety Act, and an end to extrajudicial methods and surveillance by security forces.

Sri Lanka has consistently maintained that it disagrees with the report’s conclusions regarding international action and views the U.N. High Commissioner’s recommendations as an infringement on its sovereignty.

The island nation has faced persistent international scrutiny regarding alleged human rights abuses, particularly during the final stages of the civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that concluded in 2009. While various U.N. bodies and human rights organizations have advocated for international accountability mechanisms, citing insufficient progress in domestic investigations, the Sri Lankan government insists on pursuing its own reconciliation process without external interference.

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