Sri Lankans must act together in
favour of sustained democracy, says UN expert
GENEVA / COLOMBO (26 July 2019) —
The people of Sri Lanka must act together to secure democracy, human rights and
the rule of law, says the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of
peaceful assembly and of association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule.
“At the root of the rights to
freedom of peaceful assembly and of association is the ability of people to
come together to make their voices heard. It is important that the people of
Sri Lanka unite in order to bolster the democratic progress that the country
has made so far,” the expert said, presenting a preliminary statement at the
end of a visit to the country.
“While Sri Lanka is party to many
of the international human rights instruments which have created clear human
rights obligations for the State and while legislation has been put in place to
largely reflect these obligations, divisions in society represent a threat to
them being fully achieved.”
The expert was daunted by the
widespread fear of setbacks in the democratic gains expressed by all sectors of
society. “It is important that the country’s political leaders do not dismiss
people’s desire for freedom, rule of law and democracy and do not undermine the
progress that has been hard fought for, particularly in light of the upcoming
elections.”
The Sri Lankan constitution
protects the rights to both freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of
association. But the Special Rapporteur was made aware of a number of laws
whose application jeopardised those rights, including sections of the penal
code, the ICCPR Act, as well as the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Vagrants
Ordinance is also used, specifically in targeting LGBTI minorities.
“It has been brought to my
attention that these laws are frequently applied in a discriminatory manner
against those people organising around specific issues such as disappearances,
land rights, livelihood and access to resources, and development projects,” Voule
said.
“The Government must equally act to
address the root causes of protests, dealing head on with the issues raised by
participants in the course of their demonstrations.”
The Special Rapporteur’s visit
comes at a critical time for the country, following the devastating terrorist
attacks in April and a constitutional crisis late last year. In addition, the
current application of emergency regulations has heightened tensions and has
made it more difficult for some members of civil society to carry out their
activities and assemble peacefully.
Recently, a series of legislative
reforms were proposed including changes to the law regulating NGOs and the
creation of counter-terrorism and unified employment bills. However, these
revisions were met with stark opposition from civil society campaigners, who
say that they risk clamping down on existing rights and were created without a
sufficiently participatory consultative process.
“Following these objections, I am
pleased to say that the relevant Minister withdrew the draft NGO bill, opting
instead to permit civil society to create their own draft law for discussion,”
Voule said.
Failure to enact comprehensive
security sector reform since the devastating and protracted civil war, which
ended in 2009, has also made it difficult for civil society to operate.
Intelligence frameworks that carry out surveillance of protests and other activities
are still in place, and threats and harassment of human rights defenders have
also been reported.
“In certain areas of the country,
this is reminiscent of past practices and continues to instil fear and deter
people from exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and association,”
Voule said.
The Special Rapporteur also
expressed concern over the growing prevalence of hate speech in the country,
which increased notably after the April attacks.
“While legislation is in place to
combat hate speech, including under the ICCPR Act of 2007, the legislation is
not applied with an even hand, and discriminatory and violent rhetoric,
particularly by members of the majority community frequently goes unpunished.
This is exacerbated by the use of social media to fan the flames of hatred and
spread misinformation. This is a serious threat to the existence of a
respectful and peaceful dialogue among sectors of society, an essential element
for any representative democracy,” Voule said.
During his visit, the UN expert
travelled to the North, South and East of Sri Lanka, as well as the capital,
Colombo. He met Government officials and representatives of civil society,
trade unions and others. He thanks the government for the invitation and the cooperation
before and during the visit.
The Special Rapporteur’s
conclusions and recommendations will be presented to the UN Human Rights
Council in June 2020.
ENDS
Mr. Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, from
Togo, was appointed as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right topeaceful assembly and association in March 2018. He is a legal expert and
currently works in Geneva in the field of human rights. He is an associate
researcher at the Geneva Academy of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Prior to
his appointment, he led the work of the International Service for Human Rights
(ISHR). Mr. Voule also worked as Secretary General of the Togolese Coalition of
Human Rights Defenders, as campaigning officer for the Coalition for the
Togolese International Criminal Court and as Secretary General of the Amnesty
International section in Togo. Since 2011, Mr. Voule has been an expert member
of the Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights
Violations of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of
what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special
Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights
system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and
monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or
thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a
voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their
work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in
their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page - SriLanka
For more information and media
requests please contact: Mr Jack Pope (+41 22 917 9278 [+94 762 38 26 87 during
the visit], spdconsultant@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to
other UN independent experts, please contact: Mr Jeremy Laurence, UN Human
Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)
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independent human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts
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