Sri Lanka's economy and government services have been characterised by high levels of corruption for several decades. The press regularly reports cases of bribery and influence peddling. The country's anti-corruption legislation is generally not enforced and the protection of potential whistle-blowers is not guaranteed. For years, impunity has prevailed at all levels of government. The police, who are responsible for combating the phenomenon, are regularly implicated themselves. In the spring of 2022, this high prevalence of corruption, together with the very poor economic situation, led to an eruption of popular protest that forced the prime minister and the president, brothers Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign. In order to gain access to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan mechanism, President Ranil Wickremesinghe introduced much tougher anti-corruption legislation in 2023. At the end of 2024, both presidential and parliamentary elections were won in quick succession by the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP) party. Its leader, current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has further tightened the anti-corruption legislation and ordered security forces to take strong action against graft practices.
The seizure of power by the JVP is still too recent to be able to assess whether its strong anti-corruption stance is already having an impact. Consequently, this COI Focus analyses the pre-existing situation: firstly, the high prevalence of corruption and bribery among government officials, and secondly, the widespread circulation of all kinds of false or forged official documents in Sri Lanka. These include administrative documents from the registry office (driving licences, national identity cards, birth, marriage and death certificates), the land registry (title deeds), the academic sphere (diplomas) and police administration (number plates, notices with false logos). These documents may be completely false or fraudulently obtained, genuine documents that contain false information or inaccuracies, or documents where fraud has been committed upon issuance.
In the Sri Lankan emigration sector, a wide range of officials, professionals and middlemen have also been involved in corruption and bribery practices for many years. There are extensive networks of sub-agents and middlemen operating in Sri Lanka between officials and citizens seeking to purchase a semi-official document for use abroad. According to public sources, officials also act with impunity in the context of emigration, engaging in corruption, exploitation and crimes such as providing false or forged documents. In addition, according to a number of sources, the emigration sector also has close links with Sri Lanka's criminal underworld and its rogue networks of touts, scammers and criminals who provide those wishing to leave the country with services and all types of false administrative documents or under false pretences.
Policy
The policy implemented by the Commissioner General is based on a thorough analysis of accurate and up-to-date information on the general situation in the country of origin. This information is collated in a professional manner from various, objective sources, including the EUAA, the UNHCR, relevant international human rights organisations, non-governmental organisations, professional literature and coverage in the media. When determining policy, the Commissioner General does not only examine the COI Focuses written by Cedoca and published on this website, as these deal with just one aspect of the general situation in the country of origin. The fact that a COI Focus could be out-of-date does not mean that the policy that is being implemented by the Commissioner General is no longer up-to-date.
When assessing an application for asylum, the Commissioner General not only considers the actual situation in the country of origin at the moment of decision-making, he also takes into account the individual situation and personal circumstances of the applicant for international protection. Every asylum application is examined individually. An applicant must comprehensively demonstrate that he has a well-founded fear of persecution or that there is a clear personal risk of serious harm. He cannot, therefore, simply refer back to the general conditions in his country, but must also present concrete, credible and personal facts.
There is no policy paper for this country available on the website.