Topic
Justice & Human Rights
2,079 speeches · 258 speakers
Party share
By the speaker's party · counts only, no scoring. "Unattributed" = speeches not resolved to an MP.
Most active on this topic
| # | Member | Speeches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney at Law, M.P. JJB | 162 |
| 2 | Hon. Sajith Premadasa, M.P. SJB | 96 |
| 3 | Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna, M.P. Independent Group 17 - Jaffna | 84 |
| 4 | Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney at Law, M.P. SJB | 79 |
| 5 | Hon. Ajith P. Perera, M.P. SJB | 71 |
| 6 | Hon. Ananda Wijepala, M.P. JJB | 67 |
| 7 | Hon. Mujibur Rahman, M.P. SJB | 60 |
| 8 | Hon. Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, M.P. JJB | 52 |
| 9 | Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam, M.P. ITAK | 48 |
| 10 | Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa, M.P. JJB | 47 |
Speeches
2,079 on this topic- 4 March 2026 The Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam ITAK AI summary Welcoming the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill, Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam said regulation is necessary because exploitative microfinance practices after the war particularly harmed women-headed households in the North and East, causing debt traps, harassment, and suicides. He argued that the Bill is too broad and may include non-profit, community-based lending groups formed by villagers for mutual support, and proposed a separate category with appropriate provisions for such organizations. He also called for adequate women’s representation in the proposed Authority and submitted amendments, while referring to unresolved wartime displacement and disappearances in the North and East. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. Jagath Manuwarna JJB AI summary Jagath Manuwarna supported the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill, arguing that regulation is necessary because thousands of unregistered lenders operate in villages while only a few are Central Bank-registered. He said poor borrowers, especially women, plantation communities, farmers, and war-affected people in the North and East, have faced severe distress, harassment, and suicides linked to abusive microfinance practices. He assured that voluntary village societies such as death-benefit societies and farmer organizations would not be targeted, and said the Bill aims to formalize the sector and protect both borrowers and legitimate lenders. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam ACTC AI summary Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam welcomed regulation of microfinance in principle, citing severe post-war indebtedness, especially among women in the North and East, but argued that the Bill fails to address key harms. He said it would undermine longstanding community-based credit systems by treating them as microfinance institutions, and called for such grassroots providers to be exempt and regulated separately. He also criticized the proposed expansion of CRIB coverage as worsening financial exclusion for low-income borrowers, and requested an amendment to the Civil Procedure Code so debt recovery cases are filed where borrowers reside rather than at lenders’ registered offices. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. Kanthasamy Prabu JJB AI summary Hon. Kanthasamy Prabu supported the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill as a measure to regulate, monitor, and make microfinance institutions accountable, citing high-interest lending, unclear loan agreements, weekly collections, and debt cycles affecting poor borrowers, especially women-headed households in the North and East after 2009. He highlighted cases in Batticaloa, including outstanding microfinance debt and suicides linked to harassment and digital phone-based lending, and argued that the Government must provide relief and protection to affected communities. He also briefly called for state support to develop Sri Lanka’s Tamil cinema sector, referring to the Indo-Lanka film “Anthony” and opportunities for Sri Lankan Tamil artists. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake NDF AI summary Chamara Sampath Dasanayake raised concerns about homelessness and destitution among children and around 5,000 families in Polonnaruwa. He requested the Deputy Minister of Defence to investigate “Eon Lanka” and ensure that funds belonging to soldiers are returned, while also expressing support for the Bill under debate. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake NDF AI summary Chamara Sampath Dasanayake welcomed the Bill as overdue and urged immediate action against financial fraud schemes that have allegedly devastated depositors. He cited “Eon Lanka” in Kurunegala, said to have taken funds from 10,700 soldiers including disabled war veterans, and “Earnviv” in Polonnaruwa, which he said defrauded about 5,000 families through cryptocurrency trading. He called for prosecution, recovery of funds, and, if Police action is insufficient, empowering Defence authorities to stop and arrest those responsible. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. Nishantha Jayaweera - Deputy Minister of Economic Development JJB AI summary Deputy Minister Nishantha Jayaweera supported the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill, describing it as a response to abusive app-based and unregulated lending practices involving excessive interest, unsolicited loans, data misuse, and harassment of borrowers. He said the Bill aims to regulate microfinance institutions, protect borrowers, cap excessive interest rates, prevent debt traps, and bring unregulated lenders under a single authority, while excluding cooperatives, Samurdhi community banks and societies, and organisations under the Agrarian Development Act. He outlined borrower-protection requirements, including clear agreements, repayment-capacity assessments, transparent interest disclosure, statements on request, and fair treatment, and noted that licensed banks are already regulated by the Central Bank. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. (Mrs.) Samanmali Gunasingha JJB AI summary Mrs. Samanmali Gunasingha supported the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill as a response to widespread unregulated high-interest lending affecting over 2.4 million women borrowers and linked to severe social harms, including suicides. She said the Bill would establish regulatory oversight, complaint mechanisms down to local levels, data collection, interest and fair-practice controls, and requirements such as informed consent in borrowers’ preferred languages. She also referred to alleged abusive practices by specific microfinance institutions and linked the Bill to broader government plans to provide Rs. 96 billion in collateral-free support for women and other entrepreneurs. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam ITAK AI summary Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam argued that the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill, reportedly linked to an Asian Development Bank loan condition, is drafted too broadly and may bring small post-war NGOs, women’s savings groups, and social lending schemes under strict regulation while leaving banks, leasing companies, and finance companies able to charge high rates. He warned that CRIB restrictions and inadequate rules on debt recovery could push poor and rural borrowers toward unregulated moneylenders, and called for explicit exemptions, clearer recovery safeguards, and mandatory women’s representation in the Authority. He also raised related concerns about electricity billing access, fuel shortages in the North, East and estates, and the absence of clarity on promised plantation worker wage increases, urging protective amendments to the Bill. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage - Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment JJB AI summary The Minister supported the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill as a replacement for the Microfinance Act, No. 6 of 2016, emphasizing customer protection, licensing, and supervision of money lending and microfinance businesses. He traced the sector’s role in serving low-income borrowers excluded from formal banking, including Sri Lanka’s cooperative, Janasaviya and Samurdhi-based models, while noting that commercialization and weakened social collateral had led to exploitative practices. He cited unregulated operators, high interest rates, unfair recoveries, distress among women borrowers, suicides, and depositor losses as reasons for stronger regulation, while clarifying that cooperatives, Samurdhi institutions, pawn brokers and other bodies already regulated under specific laws are excluded from the Bill’s scope. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading (Continued) Read →
- 4 March 2026 Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning JJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha moved the Second Reading of the Bill to establish the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority, regulate moneylending and microfinance, protect clients, and repeal the Microfinance Act, No. 6 of 2016. He said the existing framework was inadequate amid unregulated village, online, and app-based lending, and outlined the Bill’s provisions on licensing, supervision, investigations, penalties, and an independent fund for the Authority. He noted that the revised Bill followed earlier Cabinet approvals, Supreme Court proceedings, withdrawal of a previous version, and further committee review, with some outstanding matters to be addressed by regulations. He also stated that the Finance Ministry would link regulation with debt-relief and livelihood programmes, including Rs. 95.6 billion in concessional and interest-subsidised schemes for 2026 through the Praja Shakthi programme and Community Development Councils. Debate: Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill - Second Reading Read →
- 4 March 2026 The Hon. (Dr.) V.S. Radhakrishnan SJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) V.S. Radhakrishnan raised an urgent matter with the Minister of Health regarding an alleged sexual assault on the body of a 23-year-old woman in the mortuary of Glencairn Hospital. He requested immediate action to hand the three alleged perpetrators over to the Police and produce them before Court, questioning the safety and dignity afforded to women even after death. Oral Questions: Paddy Marketing Board and Fertilizer Subsidies Read →
- 3 March 2026 The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law - Minister of Justice and National Integration JJB AI summary The Minister of Justice and National Integration stated that 793 death-sentenced prisoners whose appeals are exhausted and who have not received a Presidential pardon are in prison, but declined to provide their names to protect privacy. He acknowledged that former Presidents had granted pardons in such cases, sometimes on committee recommendations and sometimes individually. He said Cabinet approval has been obtained to appoint a committee including a Supreme Court Judge and relevant institutions to develop an objective process, with further action to follow its report and Cabinet approval. Deferred Questions and Parliament Adjournment Read →
- 3 March 2026 The Hon. Ajith P. Perera SJB AI summary Hon. Ajith P. Perera asked the Minister of Justice and National Integration for details of prisoners under sentence of death whose appeals are exhausted and who have not received a Presidential pardon, including their names and ages. He sought confirmation that no executions have been ordered since 1976, that some death sentences are commuted to life imprisonment under Article 34(1) of the Constitution, and raised concerns about whether the commutation process is informal and not sufficiently subjective. He asked what steps would be taken to make the process more subjective and whether regulations under the Prisons Ordinance would be introduced to formalize the commencement and serving of life sentences after commutation. Deferred Questions and Parliament Adjournment Read →
- 3 March 2026 The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC SJB AI summary Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper criticised the Government and President for not condemning alleged violations of international law by the United States and Israel in relation to an ongoing war, and called on Americans to impeach President Donald Trump in the interests of global peace. He argued that Sri Lanka should not be subservient to major powers and said Muslim supporters of the Government were disappointed by the absence of a clear condemnation. He also alleged past links between Sri Lankan military intelligence and Zaharan Hashim’s extremist group from 2012, claiming such actions were part of attempts to create a new communal target after the defeat of the LTTE, and called for these matters to be exposed to dismantle what the President had described as a “deep state.” Debate: Regulation under Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017 Read →
- 3 March 2026 The Hon. Hector Appuhamy SJB AI summary Hon. Hector Appuhamy criticized the President for not presenting concrete measures on the impact of war and economic risks, including protection for overseas workers, securing fuel, gas and medicines, sustaining exports, attracting investment, and engaging international bodies such as the UN, IAEA, WTO and ILO. He urged the Government to involve the Opposition and wider stakeholders in building consensus and managing public concern over shortages. He also raised dissatisfaction with the Easter Sunday investigations, calling for full inquiries into all alleged links and for answers by 21 April, without using selective arrests or delays to divert attention. Debate: Regulation under Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017 Read →
- 3 March 2026 The Hon. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi JJB AI summary Hon. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi said the disputed letter from the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs appeared to be an administrative decision rather than a personal action, but should be examined further. He noted that withdrawal of the letter may not resolve the issue due to related court determinations and the Waqf Board’s registration authority, and outlined possible registration avenues under the Waqf Act, Divisional Secretariat, Department of Social Services, or Registrar of Companies. He undertook to discuss the matter with the relevant Cabinet Minister to assess any legal scope for reconsideration. Oral Question by Private Notice: Reactivation of Deregistered Islamic Charitable Organizations (Q.27(2)) Read →
- 3 March 2026 The Hon. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah SLMC AI summary Hon. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah stated that about 350 organizations registered under the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs were deregistered without any court order or legal decision removing the Department’s authority. He argued that the Director’s cancellation letter could be withdrawn administratively, allowing the organizations to resume functioning without new legislation, and asked the Minister to advise the Department accordingly. He noted that bodies such as the Sri Lanka Khateeb and Muazzin Welfare Organization had their bank accounts and investments affected by the deregistration. Oral Question by Private Notice: Reactivation of Deregistered Islamic Charitable Organizations (Q.27(2)) Read →
- 3 March 2026 The Hon. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi — Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs AI summary The Minister responded to three questions under Standing Order 27(2), stating that 435, not 350, Islamic charitable organizations had been registered by the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs before all such registrations were annulled administratively with effect from 24 September 2019. He said the Department has no mechanism to restore those registrations, citing a Trincomalee Civil Appellate High Court judgment that registration and regulation fall under the Muslim Mosques and Charitable Trusts or Wakfs Act with Waqf Board approval. He added that eligible organizations may seek registration under that Act, while others may register through the Divisional Secretariat, Department of Social Services, or Registrar of Companies, and tabled the relevant annexes. Oral Question by Private Notice: Reactivation of Deregistered Islamic Charitable Organizations (Q.27(2)) Read →
- 3 March 2026 The Hon. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah SLMC AI summary Hon. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah raised a Question by Private Notice to the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs regarding the 2019 mass deregistration of approximately 350 Islamic charitable organizations registered under the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs. He said the cancellations, made without individual inquiries or published reports, disrupted religious, cultural, educational, youth, sports and social services and caused concern within the Muslim community. He asked whether the Minister acknowledged the cancellations, whether steps would be taken to reactivate the organizations’ registrations, and what action had already been taken to restore them. Oral Question by Private Notice: Reactivation of Deregistered Islamic Charitable Organizations (Q.27(2)) Read →