SRI LANKA: UN body grills Sri Lanka over torture allegations
Kingsley Karunaratne
Delegation says Sri Lankan government has zero tolerance for torture,
but critics say police 'enjoy impunity'
The United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) is in session in
Geneva, Switzerland from Nov. 7 - Dec. 7 and Sri Lanka has been called
to account for allegations of ongoing abuse.
The Sri Lankan government sent an 11-member delegation led by
Attorney-General Jayantha Jayasuriya on Nov. 16-17 to respond to the
accusations that there is regular use of torture. During the two-day
sessions at the fifth periodic review, the Sri Lankan delegation was
publicly grilled about the accusations by members of the U.N.
committee.
Addressing the committee, Jayasuriya said that Sri Lanka has conducted
measures over the last two years in order to fully investigate torture
accusations. He reiterated that Sri Lanka has a zero tolerance policy
on torture.
However, Father Nandana Manatunga, head of the Human Rights Office in
Kandy Diocese, said that the government is in complete denial about
routine torture by police.
"We requested the government to indict torture perpetrators but
nothing has happened even after the change of government," said Father
Manathunga, who is currently handling 60 torture cases.
"If the perpetrators are indicted and brought before the law and
punished then things would change drastically. As for now they enjoy
impunity and this encourages other police officers to continue
torturing suspects," the priest told ucanews.com <http://ucanews.com/>
.
"In order to indict torture perpetrators the special investigation
unit should once again be activated to investigate police officers who
are suspected of torture," said Father Manathunga.
"We hope to continue our signature campaign calling for the government
to activate the torture act and punish the perpetrators," the priest
added.
Jayasuriya informed the U.N. committee that Sri Lanka is still working
on its National Human Rights Action Plan due to be completed in 2021.
He said that the ongoing process will help the nation come into line
with its international treaty obligations, according to a Daily News
report <http://www.dailynews.lk/2016/
.
Philip Disanayaka, executive secretary of the Right to Life Human
Rights Center, who participated in the UNCAT review, said that the Sri
Lankan government's report on torture cases had been contradicted by
figures from the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission.
The Sri Lankan police admitted they tortured 30 people from 2011-2014
but the Sri Lanka Human Rights commission said that 2,210 people were
abused. This clearly indicates that torture is a routine method used
to force confessions from suspects, Disanayaka said.
"Even though the government has taken a few steps, it is not enough to
eradicate this menace from society," he added.
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka also reported they received
413 complaints of police torture in 2015.
Brito Fernando, chief of the Families of the Disappeared, who also
participated in the UNCAT review, said that the Chief of National
Intelligence, Sisira Mendis was deliberately evasive when questioned.
Mendis oversaw the police Criminal Investigation Department during the
last part the country's civil war from March 2008 until June 2009. His
units have been named by a U.N. investigation as being responsible for
torture and sexual violence during the period, according to a Foreign
Affairs report
<http://foreignaffairs.co.nz/
.
Even so, Fernando was hopeful that the U.N. review would have a good
affect back home.
"This meeting offered the new government of Sri Lanka a major
opportunity to signal a break with the past — to acknowledge the
appalling scale of torture, and to demonstrate a genuine willingness
to take the steps necessary to end its use," he told ucanews.com
<http://ucanews.com/>
.
# # #
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) works towards the radical
rethinking and fundamental redesigning of justice institutions in
order to protect and promote human rights in Asia. Established in
1984, the Hong Kong based organisation is a Laureate of the Right
Livelihood Award, 2014.
Read this Forwarded Article online
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