Petitioner Seeks Mandatory Labeling Of Medicines In Local Languages

A senior researcher of Centre for Policy Alternatives, Lionel Guruge, filed a Fundamental Rights petition with the Supreme Court requesting an order be issued to health authorities to make instructions in labels of medicine and medical equipment appear in Sinhalese and Tamil.

Through the petition, the petitioner points out that Sinhalese and Tamil are the official languages of Sri Lanka. The fundamental rights of the majority of Sri Lankan people are being violated by the fact that the labels in medicines and medical equipment are not given in their languages.

He also points out that the National Medicine Regulatory Authority had given an undertaking to the Human Rights Commission to make such labeling available.