A/HRC/43/19 risk from religious and political violence, lack of accountability, distrust of institutions and resentment against perceived majoritarian privilege. 15 32. There has been a significant opening of civic space in Sri Lanka since 2015. However, reports of harassment or surveillance of human rights defenders and victims of human rights violations increased during 2019. In particular, starting from October 2019, more than a dozen organizations working on documentation or litigation around accountability and disappearance issues have reported being visited by agents claiming to belong to security agencies and requesting administrative details of the organizations, including lists of staff, funding sources and external travel. Some of the relatives of victims of disappearance who took part in organized protests in 2019 were asked to report to police stations for further questioning. Such visits, which began before the presidential election and have since continued, have been documented in different parts of the country, generating considerable fear and anxiety. Several journalists were summoned by the Criminal Investigation Department, arrested and detained or had their offices searched; others have received threats. In some cases, Sri Lankans who travelled to Geneva to attend sessions of the Human Rights Council were questioned about the motives of their trips, either at the airport or during visits by the police to their homes upon their return (see A/HRC/42/30). 33. In resolution 30/1, the Human Rights Council encourages the Government to introduce effective security sector reforms. The return of land occupied by the military in Northern and Eastern Provinces continued in 2019, with the majority of land now returned. Yet there has been a disturbing trend towards the militarization of civilian government functions. Control of several key civilian departments has been recently put under the oversight of the Ministry of Defence, including the police, the immigration department, telecommunications registration, the national media centre and the secretariat for nongovernmental organizations. 34. Very little action has been taken to remove individuals responsible for past violations, to dismantle structures and practices that have facilitated torture, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings, and to prevent their recurrence. The High Commissioner is deeply concerned about the appointment of several military officers to senior command positions, both before and after the presidential elections, despite the serious allegations that troops under their command had committed gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian law during the war, as documented by the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka 16 and by OHCHR during its investigation on Sri Lanka. 17 35. The High Commissioner is also concerned about the steps taken in 2019 to resume implementation of the death penalty after over 40 years of de facto moratorium, notably the recruitment of executioners and the reported signature of executions warrants for four prisoners convicted of drug-related offences. 18 The High Commissioner recalls that the United Nations opposes the use of capital punishment in all circumstances, and urges the Government to continue to uphold the long-standing moratorium on the death penalty and to work towards abolishing the punishment altogether. 15 16 17 18 OHCHR. “Sri Lanka: simmering ethno-religious tensions must not be ignored, says UN rights expert”, 26 August 2019. See www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/POC%20Rep%20on%20Account%20in%20Sri%20Lanka.pdf. OHCHR, “Bachelet ‘deeply troubled’ by appointment of new Sri Lankan army chief”, 19 August 2019. See also OHCHR, “Sri Lanka: UN experts say army chief appointment is ‘affront to victims’ of rights abuses”, 27 August 2019. OHCHR. “Presentation of the High Commissioner’s report on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka (item 2)”, 20 March 2019. On 28 June 2019, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment sent a urgent appeal calling on the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that executions were not carried out and the moratorium was maintained (see https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublic CommunicationFile?gId=24686). The Government replied on 19 July 2019 (see https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=34796). 7