SRI LANKA: AHRC writes to the new Minister of Finance to make funds available for police reforms and genuinely effective corruption control

The Asian Human Rights Commission wrote to the newly appointed Minister for Finance Ravi Karunanayake, congratulating him on his appointment, and stating that the establishment of good governance as promised by the new government requires budgetary allocations for law enforcement, and the prevention of corruption.

The AHRC stated in the letter that “… As the Minister of Finance, you will have a pivotal role to play in ensuring the implementation of measures towards good governance, because transforming words into actions requires budgetary allocations, and your Ministry will have a vital role to play in making such budgetary allocations possible.

The two major areas where such budgetary allocations would be required are: 1) Measures for the modernization of the Sri Lankan police, to progress from the primitive style of policing that exists in the country to one that is possessed of the qualities and capacities found in modern times in many countries; 2) The establishment of a commission against bribery and corruption that could genuinely implement a program of prevention of bribery and corruption, again, in terms of what has been achieved in many countries in modern times. One recognized example is the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong.”
You may click here to see the complete letter.

Document Type : Statement
Document ID : AHRC-STM-010-2015
Countries : Sri Lanka,
Issues : Administration of justice, Corruption, Independence of judges & lawyers, Institutional reform,