Action for a Peoples’ Constitution to hold public meeting and rally on 20 September

Action for a Peoples’ Constitution promoting equality, dignity and economic justice will hold a public meeting on 20 September at 1 p.m. at the Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo.

The report of the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PRC), submitted in May, clearly reflects the will of people across the country that the new constitution guarantees social and economic equality and justice as well as inclusion with dignity. But the lack of transparency of the current post-PRC phase of constitutional reform and marginalisation of concerns pertaining to economic justice in the ongoing discussions, call for urgent and definitive expression of public opinion and action.

Action for a Peoples’ Constitution demands that the new constitution:

nDirect the state to ensure economic justice through inclusive, equitable, regionally balanced and sustainable development, including special measures for particularly vulnerable or historically impoverished communities, such as those affected by war-related harms to Up-country Tamils;

nEnsure economic policy protects the interests and participation of women and others marginalised because of their class, caste, racial, ethnic, age, religious, linguistic, or gender/sexual identities, or mental and physical disability;

nEnshrine the fundamental rights to: peoples’ participation in governance, education, health, food, water, adequate housing, social security, a living and equal wage for women and men, decent and safe work, freedom from forced evictions, and a safe, clean and healthy environment;

nEnsure governance of the country’s land, waters, forests and other natural resources is sustainable and participatory with a special emphasis of safeguarding rights and interests of local communities;

nProvide recourse to citizens to claim and enforce their rights through courts, independent commissions, ombuds bodies and other means;

nEnsure equitable sharing and appropriate use of national wealth including and especially through:

1. Transparent, participatory and gender-sensitive budget processes at all levels of government

2. An independent and empowered Finance Commission and Auditor General’s office

3. Maximum and effective sharing of revenues with provincial and local authorities

nPlace more effective checks and balances on the executive’s power to contract foreign debt and enter into financial and trade agreements with other countries, international institutions and commercial entities.

These demands are in keeping with the letter and spirit of the many submissions made to the PRC and its recommendations. These demands are a response to the widening inequality and precariousness, sharpening regional imbalances and weakening of social policy due to the war and economic policies that have ignored social and environmental costs and undermined both social development and freedoms. Post-war approaches to reconstruction and development have only aggravated the situation further.

The Action is to remind the Constitutional Assembly and the Government that a constitution that fails to address deprivation, distributive injustice and inequality between and across the peoples of Sri Lanka and its different regions will not secure the foundations of justice or peace.

Action for a Peoples’ Constitution therefore demands that the new constitution unequivocally crystallise, protect and expand Sri Lanka’s investment in social development, including public health, education and social protection, to ensure freedom, dignity, well-being and security for all our peoples.

Action for a Peoples’ Constitution is a collective of movements, networks and organisations working to protect the rights of women, minorities, farmers, fishers, workers, persons with disabilities, sexual minorities, and the environment. It is also supported by many academics, scholars, lawyers, teachers, social activists, writers, artists, human rights defenders, journalists, and professionals from various backgrounds.