Sri Lanka gets dressing down at UNHRC

• UN High Commissioner for HR says recent arrests under PTA troubling 
• Slams SL for repeatedly failing to pursue effective transitional justice processes and uphold victims’ rights
• Says no progress has been made in Easter Sunday attack investigations 
• Claims impunity remains a central obstacle to rule of law, reconciliation, sustainable peace and development

The United Nations Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif has urged the Government of Sri Lanka not to revert to its reliance on draconian security laws but to take positive action to foster an environment for peaceful protest, critical discussion and debate. 

Presenting the UN Human Rights Office report on Sri Lanka before the 51st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Al-Nashif said while Sri Lanka has navigated the recent political changes in a largely peaceful way, the situation in Sri Lanka is yet fragile. 

Acting High Commissioner said it was concerning that in recent weeks, scores of leaders and members of the protest movement and trade unions have been arrested.

“Particularly troubling was the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act to arrest three student leaders on 18 August 2022, despite the Government’s announcement in June 2022 that it has been applying a de facto moratorium on the use of this Act since March of this year,” she said. 

“I urge the Government not to revert to this reliance on draconian security laws, but take positive action to foster an environment for peaceful protest, critical discussion and debate,” she added. 

Commenting on the Government’s plans on drafting a new counter-terrorism law to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act, in the area of transitional justice as well as the strengthening of institutions, Al-Nashif noted that security sector reforms to remove military officials or former paramilitary leaders implicated in past human rights violations, to increase transparency and to ensure accountability was imperative to deliver on these promises. 

She also said continuous surveillance and intimidation of civil society organisations, victim groups, human rights defenders, journalists and former cadres of the LTTE by Government agencies are of concern.  

She pointed out that Sri Lanka has repeatedly failed to pursue an effective transitional justice process and uphold victims’ rights to truth, justice and reparations. 

“Rather, as described in our previous reports, successive governments have created political obstacles to accountability, actively promoted and incorporated some military and former paramilitary officials credibly implicated in alleged war crimes into the highest levels of Government, and have failed to present a shared understanding of the conflict and its root causes,” she noted. 

Al-Nashim also highlighted that no progress has been made on the Easter Sunday attack in 2019. “Similarly, despite some suspects being charged, there has been no further progress to establish the truth about the terrible Easter Sunday bombings of 2019. OHCHR calls for an independent and transparent investigation, with international assistance should it be necessary, to pursue further lines of inquiry, in particular the role of the security establishment, in a process that guarantees the full participation of victims and their representatives,” she said. 

Impunity, Al-Nashim said, remains a central obstacle to the rule of law, reconciliation and Sri Lanka’s sustainable peace and development. “This impunity continues to embolden those committing human rights violations, has created fertile ground for corruption and the abuse of power, as well as contributing to the present economic crisis,” she noted. 

However, she also said the UNHRC welcomes the Government’s commitment to providing social protection for the most vulnerable. She also said the organisation encourages the Member States and international financial institutions to ensure that Sri Lanka has fiscal space to fulfil its core economic and social rights obligations in this regard. 

The Acting High Commissioner said that the Government now has a fresh opportunity to steer the country on the path towards justice and reconciliation and to address the legacy of conflict. She welcomed in this regard, the tone set by the President in his first speech to Parliament in which he recognised the diversity of the Sri Lankan nation and promised constitutional reforms. (M B)