Media: The law guarantees freedom of speech and the press in Sri Lanka, however, media freedom in practice remains severely restricted, with journalists being subjected to legal harassment and physical intimidation, which consequently, lead to self-censorship among journalists. The state-run media is under heavy political influence and control. This was most evident during the presidential election campaign in January 2010. Private media are more diverse, but they have become more consolidated in recent years with many private media outlets now owned by government officials or their close associates. On the positive side, the destruction of the LTTE ended severe restrictions that the rebels had placed on media in their territory. According to a 2010 news article by BBC News, Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist, illustrated by nine media workers having been murdered and more than 25 assaulted in the past few years. To date, not one case involving an attack on, or murder of journalists has been solved successfully in Sri Lanka, according to the Sri Lanka Governance Report 2009 by TI Sri Lanka, leading to a climate of impunity. Freedom House 2010 also reports that the level of threats and harassment against local journalists and media outlets continued to rise in 2009. The offices of the country’s largest independent broadcasting company, Maharaja Broadcasting, were attacked in January 2009, presumably in retaliation for its coverage of the war. Several dozen other journalists have fled the country in the past two years as a result of threats. Restrictions on internet content have increased since the escalation of fighting at the end of 2008, including other local news sources as well as the sites of international human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch. The situation for the media seems to be deteriorating and, according to Reporters Without Borders 2010, Sri Lanka ranks 158th out of 178 countries, while Freedom House 2011 ranks the country 157th out of 196 countries and describes its press environment as 'not free'. For updates on the media situation in Sri Lanka, please see the Free Media Movement Sri Lanka website.

Civil Society: Traditionally, NGOs in Sri Lanka have held connections to political parties, resulting in the government being very suspicious towards those NGOs that have ties to opposition parties. Any independent NGO is viewed as a threat to the government, and therefore is closely controlled by the government. There have been cases where NGO members have been violently attacked and murdered, and while some of these were committed by LTTE, it is generally believed that the government or its supporters have been behind some of the attacks, as reported by Freedom House 2010. Because of the political situation in the country, the main focus for NGOs is the peace negotiations. Transparency International Sri Lanka is a notable exception to this. According to a 2008 article by Reuters, in September 2008, the director of Transparency International Sri Lanka experienced an assassination attempt, suggesting that anti-corruption work is carried out at considerable risk. The attack was condemned by the international community, linking the deplorable human rights situation with anti-corruption work.

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TI Sri Lanka): TI Sri Lanka is working for transparency awareness and towards the passing of a whistleblower protection law and a freedom of information act. TI Sri Lanka has set up a help line for people to report corruption. The information that is received is to be forwarded to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in order for them to take action. In 2009, it published a governance report with the goal of improving the quality of public debate on issues of governance and corruption by exposing shortcomings, and pointing to best practices that should be aspired for. Moreover, TI Sri Lanka also publishes annual reports, newsletters, position and working papers regularly that can be accessed on its website.

Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA): The CPA focuses on strengthening institution- and capacity-building for good governance and conflict resolution in Sri Lanka. The CPA conducts a lot of research to formulate the policy alternatives it presents.

Standards on Corporate Governance: Transparency International Global Corruption Report 2009 reports that the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, in consultation with the Colombo Stock Exchange, started a joint initiative in January 2007 with a view to formulating standards on corporate governance for mandatory compliance by companies listed on the exchange. These standards were incorporated into the ‘Listing Rules’ of the exchange in April 2007. The standards were formulated by a select committee, which took account of corporate governance standards in several jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the United States. They relate to the minimum number of non-executive and independent directors, the basis for determining ‘independence’, disclosures required to be made by listed companies in respect of its directorate and the minimal requirements to be met by listed companies in respect of the audit committee and the remuneration committee.