© Unsplash/Eddy Billard
People shop at a market just outside Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital.
A joint statement issued today by a dozen UN independent human rights experts said Sri Lanka's new counterterrorism bill is insufficient to compensate for the country's draconian Prevention of Terrorist Acts Act, and urged the government to ensure that the new law complies with international human rights standards.
The experts noted that for many years, United Nations independent experts and multilateral organizations had found that Sri Lanka's current Prevention of Acts of Terrorism Act was vaguely worded, failed to provide for the protection of fundamental human rights and lacked independent oversight, contrary to international law.
"It is deeply regrettable that the newly proposed bill does nothing to remedy these deficiencies," they said. ”
The old law has significant drawbacks
The proposed counter-terrorism bill is currently under consideration by the Sri Lankan Parliament. The Bill aims to replace Sri Lanka's current Prevention of Acts of Terrorism Act, which has long been constrained by structural factors that have led to torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and other human rights violations.
Sri Lanka's abuse of the Anti-Terrorism Act and its broad emergency powers, which are often used to suppress political critics, dissidents and human rights defenders, have been a concern, experts said. Under the Prevention of Terrorist Acts Act, a number of detainees in Sri Lanka have been held for decades without trial.
The new law remains a cause for concern
The experts said they had previously developed a series of "benchmarks" for Sri Lanka's counterterrorism bill that met human rights standards, including: defining terrorism in line with international norms; Ensure precision and legal certainty, in particular where counter-terrorism bills may affect the rights to freedom of expression, opinion, peaceful assembly, association and religion or belief; (a) Establish strong measures to prevent and suppress arbitrary deprivation of liberty; (a) Ensure that preventive measures are taken to prevent torture and enforced disappearance and that such acts are absolutely prohibited; and providing full due process and fair trial guarantees, including judicial oversight and access to legal counsel.
Regrettably, however, the new law contains only limited changes to the broad definition of terrorism. "The new law adds a new category of terrorism, including acts related to 'public places', without imposing much-needed constraints on counter-terrorism powers," the experts said. ”
They also expressed concern that the new law significantly expands police powers and reduces judicial oversight of intercepted communications. Experts were also disappointed that the new law created provisions to lower the threshold on the legal basis for arresting individuals suspected of or "likely" participating in any of the criminal acts provided for in the legislation.
retrogression
The experts said that the new law does not give magistrates sufficient powers to prevent torture by ensuring that all detainees are immediately removed from places of detention in the event of allegations of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Anti-Terrorism Bill also restricts the right of persons legally accused to access lawyers.
"This is a very regressive approach, ignoring Sri Lanka's long-documented human rights violations, where accused are often arrested, detained or convicted of terrorism-related offences," the experts said. These provisions run counter to the rule of law-based approach to social counter-terrorism and do not improve the status quo. ”
They said that it was regrettable that the current draft law had rejected the proposal to establish an independent review panel to adjudicate human rights violations while countering terrorism.
Urge radical reform
The experts welcomed Sri Lanka's recognition of the need for a new law and referred to a number of positive elements in the proposed bill, including the explicit exclusion of well-intentioned opinions, legitimate criticism, sarcasm and parody from the definition of "encouragement of terrorism", and the decision not to impose the death penalty for offences under the new law.
"Sri Lanka's counter-terrorism bill is long overdue for overhaul," they said. UN human rights experts have provided a road map to this end, and we urge the Government of Sri Lanka to meet the minimum requirements for their previously identified due process and human rights-compliant counter-terrorism bill. ”
Finally, the experts pledged strong support for the adoption of legislation that is fully compliant with international human rights standards and consistent with the EU's EU GSP+ programme, which aims to promote good governance through trade preferences.
Human rights expert
The joint statement was made by human rights experts Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, and Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. Margaret Satterthwaite, and Aua Baldé, a member of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, among others.
Human rights experts are part of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures is the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations human rights system and is the umbrella term for the independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanism of the Human Rights Council, dealing with specific country situations or thematic issues around the world. Experts of special procedures work on a voluntary basis, are not United Nations staff members and are independent of any Government or organization. They perform their functions in their personal capacity and are not remunerated for their work.
