A collective of human rights organisations, including the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, is calling for an urgent halt to the deployment of Sri Lankan forces to Haiti.

This year, the Sri Lankan Army announced that a Gang Suppression Force Pre Deployment course for Haiti had been concluded on the 10th of April, 2026. Such deployment must not occur before a series of actions, for the following reasons: 

— Between 2004 and 2007, at least 134 Sri Lankan peacekeepers sexually exploited and abused Haitian children, some as young as eight, as revealed by an internal UN report.

—None of these peacekeepers were imprisoned for sexual assault or misconduct.

— There is no evidence of any credible, transparent and independent vetting process for troops being considered for the upcoming deployment.

The proposed deployment is especially dangerous because there has been no credible accountability for wartime abuses in Sri Lanka, and similarly, none of the Sri Lankan peacekeepers were held accountable for abusing Haitian children. 

Haiti’s people deserve protection instead of the return of forces linked to past abuse and impunity. No Sri Lankan soldier should serve under a UN-backed mandate while serious allegations against the Sri Lankan military remain unaddressed and while victims in Sri Lanka and Haiti are still waiting for justice.

Countries with leverage over the mission are central for preventing its harms. Canada is one of the force’s largest funders and sits, alongside the United States, on the Standing Group of Partners that vets the troop and police contributions made to the mission. Both the US and Canada are therefore well placed to set conditions on who is permitted to serve. 

SLC calls on both the US and Canada to insist that no Sri Lankan personnel are accepted into the Haiti mission unless there is transparent and independent human rights screening, direct OHCHR involvement, and clear safeguards for Haitian civilians.

In our joint statement, international human rights groups call on the UN and the GSF Standing Group of Partners to:

—> Immediately suspend the deployment of all Sri Lankan military and police personnel until an independent, credible vetting and screening mechanism is complete. 

—> Ensure that no official under unresolved allegations, or with a conflict of interest, plays any role in certifying, supervising or approving the screening process;

—> Require the names, photographs and DNA records of all deploying personnel to be retained before deployment, so any allegation of sexual exploitation, sexual violence or paternity can be investigated;

—> Publish the screening methodology and safeguards, and establish a confidential, victim-accessible complaints mechanism in Haiti with genuine investigative independence and civil society involvement.

We call on the Government of Sri Lanka to:

—> Answer the UN Committee Against Torture’s outstanding questions and give a full, transparent public accounting of all action taken against perpetrators;

—> Provide effective remedies and reparations, including compensation, rehabilitation and acknowledgement  for all identified victims; 

—> Engage constructively with the recommendations of OHCHR’s Sri Lanka Accountability Project report on conflict-related sexual violence.

We call on member states to: 

—> Press for the deployment to be suspended until credible, independent vetting and accountability for past violations are in place.

Help us spread the word to stop the deployment before it’s too late.  

Read more about our concerns on this matter via our joint statement with a coalition of human rights organisations here.