A/HRC/37/23 and response to some of those incidents and the controversial statements of some (then) key ministers have eroded the Government’s image of being fully committed to improving the human rights situation. 42. The national human rights plan of action for the period 2017–2021, approved by the Cabinet in January 2017, was made public on 1 November. The plan is a welcome step forward, and the Government should ensure its full implementation. 43. The High Commissioner remains gravely concerned that, 2 1/2 years into a reconciliation process, his Office continues to receive reports of harassment or surveillance of human rights defenders and victims of human rights violations. The preconditions of trust and confidence that are needed for a reconciliation agenda to succeed are incompatible with intrusive, and likely unnecessary, surveillance of activists. While the High Commissioner has repeatedly been assured that those incidents were not consistent with the Government’s policy, the inability to fully eliminate such practices is alarming. During the period under review, at least two incidents escalated to physical violence against the activist being threatened or kept under surveillance. 44. The use of torture remains a serious concern. The High Commissioner was deeply concerned over serious allegations in foreign media about ongoing abductions, extreme torture and sexual violence, as recently as in 2016 and 2017. OHCHR is exploring options for how best to pursue further investigations of these allegations. The High Commissioner is encouraged by the strong condemnation by the Government of any act of torture, and its assurance that allegations of torture will be properly investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. 45. The High Commissioner is especially concerned with regard to multiple incidents of intercommunal violence, attacks and hate speech against minorities during the course of 2017. They included a series of petrol-bomb attacks against mosques and businesses owned by Muslims across the country around May (more than 30 registered incidents, with a peak of nearly daily attacks during the two first weeks of the month). The attacks were accompanied by anti-Muslim rhetoric from Sinhala-Buddhist ultranationalist groups and came at around the time the leader of one of these groups (Gnanasara Thero, of Bodu Bala Sena) was awaiting sentencing on a contempt of court charge. On 13 June, the Cabinet issued a statement condemning violence against minorities, noting that “inciting violence against fellow citizens of various ethnic [and] religious backgrounds has no place in Sri Lankan society”. 46. On 26 September 2017, a mob led by Buddhist monks reportedly belonging to the organization Sinhalese National Force demonstrated against the presence of Rohingya refugees in Sri Lanka in front of a house in Mount Lavinia, Colombo, where 31 Rohingyas (mostly women and children) from Myanmar were being sheltered by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its partner organization, Muslim Aid. Despite police presence, the house was stormed by the crowd and the group of Rohingyas had to be relocated for their protection. In a separate incident, tensions between the Tamil and Muslim communities in Batticaloa led to a temporary local boycott of Muslim businesses in November. In the worst incident of the year, in Gintota (Southern Province), on the evening of 18 to 19 November, more than 70 Muslim homes and businesses were damaged by a mob that formed after an incident arising from a traffic accident involving Sinhalese and Muslim youths. Hate speech over social media, possibly politically motivated, seemed to play a role in the incident. Unlike during the incidents in May, in Gintota, the Government’s response was swift, including deployment of special police units and temporary curfews. The Prime Minister visited the site of the crimes and stated that such acts of violence, and incitement to such crimes, had no place in Sri Lanka and would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Nineteen alleged perpetrators were arrested and detained. 47. Meanwhile, attacks on Evangelical Christians continued to be recorded. A prominent lawyer and human rights activist who had provided figures on the number of such attacks in a television debate in May 2017 was publicly threatened by the then Minister of Justice with disbarment for making such claims. 9