including the appointment without delay of Constitutional Council members and NPC Commissioners
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) notes the commitments made on the 11th of November 2005 by the Sri Lankan delegation to the (CAT), during its 35th session. During discussions related to the consideration of Sri Lanka’s second periodic report to the CAT, the Sri Lankan delegation agreed to ensure that the Constitutional Council would be appointed forthwith and that the National Police Commission (NPC) will not be allowed to cease functioning due to the non-appointment of its members.
The term of office of the current NPC Commissioners is due to expire on November 27th, 2005. The Committee members questioned the Sri Lankan delegation about the country’s potential incapacity to make new appointments to the NPC by this date, given that the Constitutional Council, which is the body that is tasked with making such appointments, is itself currently not functioning.
In an alternative report to the CAT, AHRC’s sister organisation, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), pointed out that the Chairperson of the NPC has sounded an alarm concerning the chaos that will likely result if the Constitutional Council is not appointed immediately and if the NPC becomes defunct after November 27th. You can access this report online at: http://www.alrc.net/doc/mainfile.php/unar_cat_sl_2005/. ALRC has also documented the ongoing conflict between the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the NPC, and the attempts to make the NPC dysfunctional and once again subjected to political influences.
In response to these questions from UN Committee experts, Sri Lanka’s Solicitor General C. R. de Silva stated that the delay to the appointment of the members of the Constitutional Council was due to a minority segment not having nominated their representative in time, and that this problem had now been solved. C. R. de Silva reassured the CAT that there were no longer any obstacles and that the appointments would be made without further delay.
AHRC urges the Sri Lankan authorities to honour the promises made by the Sri Lankan delegation to the United Nations Treaty Body and, therefore, to the international community. AHRC sincerely hopes that the delegation’s statement was made in good faith and expects to see clear and immediate results with respect to the pledges made. Presidential elections are being held today – November 17th, 2005 – in Sri Lanka. Irrespective of which political party comes to power as a result of these elections, it will be primarily duty-bound in government to ensure that the Constitutional Council and the NPC, both of which are bodies created under the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, are functioning. AHRC further urges the future government to abide by the international commitments made by the Sri Lankan delegation to the CAT.
The delegation – which comprised the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Sarala Fernando; Solicitor General C. R. de Silva; Deputy Solicitor General Shavindra Fernando; and Sumedha Ekanayake from the Foreign Affairs Ministry – also informed the Committee that the Chief Justice is preparing legislation to deal with delays in the adjudication of court hearings and that the Law Commission of Sri Lanka is drafting a law on witness protection. The costs of witness protection are also being considered, and laws are being drafted to set up a victims’ fund, according to the delegates.
With regards to concerns that recommendations from U.N. treaty bodies are not implemented by Sri Lanka, the delegates reported that constitutional amendments are being considered to ensure that proposals from the Committee Against Torture and other bodies are adopted.
In addition, and in response to claims by the delegation that the use of torture was decreasing in the country, the CAT committee sought further clarification concerning a Supreme Court Judgment, which states that “the number of credible complaints of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment whilst in police custody shows no decline” (reference: SCFR. 328/2002). The Committee members also pointed to a statement by Dr. Radika Coomaraswamy, the Chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, made during an interview with UK-based NGO Redress, in which she stated that torture by the police is endemic and arises from fundamental structural problems within the policing system and cannot merely be ascribed to some “rogue policemen.”
The Committee further referred to the many individual torture cases that have been brought to its attention in the numerous reports that its members have received. The Committee urged the government to give serious consideration to the fact that so many cases were occurring, and suggested that there therefore appeared to be something critically wrong with the policing system at present. In commenting on several cases, particularly those of Gerald Perera and Palitha Tissa Kumara, the two members acting as the Committee’s focus point on Sri Lanka noted that such incidents are unlikely to happen where there is an atmosphere that makes the perpetrators of torture fearful of the repercussions and consequences of their acts.
The matter of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was also discussed in response to concerns over it being sidelined and hindered in its work. The Sri Lankan delegation stated that all alleged cases of torture are investigated by the SIU and that there are no attempts to hand over such investigations to local Deputy Inspector Generals of Police (DIGs) or other local police officers.
AHRC calls upon the Sri Lankan government that assumes power following the elections to abide by the Constitution of Sri Lanka as well as the commitments made by the delegation to the , and to immediately implement measures required to honour these undertakings. The government must ensure that all Constitutional bodies are functioning. Furthermore, the promises made to the international community include: the rapid appointment of Constitutional Council members; the assurance that the National Police Commission will not be allowed to become defunct on November 27th, 2005, due to the appointment of Commissioners before that date; and the guarantee that all allegations of torture will be investigated by the Special Investigating Unit rather than local police officers.
AHRC calls upon civil society organizations and the media to monitor the Sri Lankan authorities’ compliance with the Constitution and commitments made, and to report on the manner in which these undertakings are in fact being implemented in the country.
