Human Rights Council elections 2008 - Sri Lanka

The armed conflict in Sri Lanka between government forces, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other armed groups continues to result in widespread human rights abuses. All parties to the conflict are responsible for grave violations of human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law.

According to the ICRC, civilian casualties have gone up as the number of indiscriminate attacks has increased in the north, east and south of the country. Since 2005, at least 5,000 people have been killed as a result of the conflict. There has been little progress in investigations into these killings, including of several humanitarian workers.

There is a widespread pattern of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka. Several hundred such cases were reported in the first six months of 2007; in the north and east enforced disappearances appear to be part of the government’s counter-insurgency strategy. Many of the disappearances take place inside high security zones and during curfew hours, suggesting that at least some may be committed by or with the consent of the security forces.

Both the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances (WGEID) and the Human Rights Committee have expressed concern about the high number of recent cases of enforced disappearances reported from Sri Lanka.  The number of outstanding cases of enforced disappearances at the end of 2007 has been listed by WGEID as 5,516.

In November 2007, allegedly in response to suicide bombings in Colombo, the police arrested over 1,000 Tamils on arbitrary and discriminatory grounds, using sweeping powers under the Emergency Regulations. These Regulations, re-introduced in 2005, allow the government to deploy the military for cordon-and-search operations and to detain without charge anyone suspected of terrorist activities.

There is currently no central register of detainees and no established procedure for informing families and the National Human Rights Commission of the place of arrest and charges against them.

Human rights defenders continue to be attacked and threatened. Journalists face shootings, physical assaults, abductions, intimidation and harassment, reportedly by both government personnel and members of armed groups.

There is a climate of impunity for human rights abuses, including in the context of the armed conflict. Amnesty International is deeply concerned that since the abrogation of the ceasefire agreement on 16 January 2008, followed by the withdrawal of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission, there is no independent reporting of human rights violations.

In December 2007, the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions downgraded the status of Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission from member to observer after concluding that the appointment of commissioners was irregular and its functioning not balanced and objective. The Commission has itself declared its inability to investigate disappearances.

In response to international concern over the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, in September 2006 the government established a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) and an International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP), to observe the proceedings of the Commission.

The mandate of the CoI is limited to 16 cases and it is a cause of concern that it reports only to the President and is not part of the country’s justice system. In March 2008, the IIGEP decided to terminate its mission, stating that the CoI had not been able to investigate the cases before it in an efficient and independent manner.

The IIGEP further concluded that the proceedings of the CoI had not been transparent nor had it satisfied basic international norms and standards. This was principally due to the intervention by the Attorney-General in the work of the CoI, the lack of victim and witness protection, the slow pace of hearings, and the lack of co-operation by state organs.

Despite the failure of domestic mechanisms to adequately investigate human rights abuses, the government has refused to allow the establishment of an international human rights monitoring presence. Such a presence has been called for by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

The number of people displaced by the armed conflict since April 2006 is more than 300,000.  Many more people remain displaced on a long-term basis. On several occasions over the past two years, the government has forced internally displaced persons to return to their homes against their wishes and in conditions of insecurity, in contravention of international standards.

The recruitment of child soldiers by the LTTE and the Karuna Group continues.  According to UNICEF, since 2002 the LTTE alone has recruited over 5,700 children.

Recent Amnesty International statements and reports:

General

Amnesty International Annual Report extracts for Sri Lanka, 2005-2007

Human rights abuses in the context of the armed conflict

Sri Lanka: mounting civilian casualties as conflict persists (Public Statement, April 2008)
Sri Lanka: Silencing Dissent (February 2008)
Sri Lanka: Amnesty International calls on the United Nations Human Rights Council to address violations (Public Statement, September 2007)
Sri Lanka: Urgent need for effective protection of civilians as conflict intensifies (Media Briefing, April 2007)
Sri Lanka: A climate of fear in the East (Report, February 2006)

Internally Displaced Persons

Sri Lanka: Waiting to go home - the plight of the internally displaced (Report, June 2006)

Commission of Inquiry

Sri Lanka: Establishing a commission of inquiry into serious violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka - Amnesty International's recommendations (September 2006)

Ratification of International Treaties

Treaty Status Recognition of specific competences of Treaty Bodies Reservations/Declarations
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Acceded Art. 41 (inter-state complaints)  
Optional Protocol to the ICCPR Ratified   Entered
Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR on the death penalty      
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Acceded    
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Ratified    
Optional Protocol to CEDAW Acceded None  
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination Acceded None  
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) Acceded None  
Optional Protocol to CAT      
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Ratified    
Optional Protocol to the CRC on children in armed conflict Ratified   Entered
Optional Protocol to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography Ratified    
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families Acceded None Entered
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance      
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court      
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees      
Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees      
The Four Geneva Conventions Ratified    
Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts      
Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts      
Protocol III to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem      

Compliance with Reporting Obligations

Total Overdue Reports Up to 5 years overdue 5 -10 years overdue 10 years or more overdue
15 CERD: 12th and 13th periodic reports
CESCR: 4th periodic report
HR Committee: 5th periodic report
CEDAW: 7th periodic report
CAT: 3rd and 4th periodic reports
CRC OP AC: initial report
CMW: initial report 		CERD: 10th and 11th periodic reports
CESCR: 3rd periodic report
CEDAW: 6th periodic report 		CESCR: 2nd periodic report
CEDAW: 5th periodic report

Cooperation with the Special Procedures

Extension of a standing invitation Outstanding visit requests (year requested) Forthcoming visits (dates if available) Missions carried out between May 2007 and April 2008
No Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers
Special Rapporteur on Torture (2005)
Independent Expert on Minority issues (2007)
Working Group on Enforced Disappearances (2006, reiterated in 2007) 		Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression (agreed in principle) Special Rapporteur on Torture (1-8 Oct 2007)
Special Representative on Internally Displaced Persons (13-21 Dec 2007)
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