International human rights bodies have expressed concern that Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission (HRC), the country’s human rights watchdog, may collapse because the government has failed to replace the outgoing commissioners.
On Friday Amnesty International called for “immediate action to preserve the country’s key institution responsible for the protection of human rights”.
“Given the serious and widespread abuses of human rights that affect Sri Lankans across the country, a fully functional, independent national human rights commission is essential,” said Kavita Menon, South Asia researcher at Amnesty International. “Victims of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka have too little recourse to justice and redress as it is.”
Outgoing HRC chairperson Radhika Coomaraswamy, who last month was appointed as the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, has warned that without urgent action by the government, “there will be a real crisis”.
The HRC carries out investigations into cases of torture, ‘disappearances’, political killings and other human rights violations. It also acts to promote and protect human rights. The rights commission has sweeping powers to investigate allegations of excesses by the police and the security forces. It is also empowered to investigate public services for any violation of fundamental rights.
The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said that Sri Lanka’s commission was set up in the early 1990s to “introduce some semblance of accountability into the system,” but that was in danger of being undermined without staff.
The AHRC executive director Basil Fernando said he believed the real problem was the “government’s deliberate attempts” to place all independent commissions under its direct control and to discourage the monitoring of government agencies in any form.
Appointments to the HRC are to be made by the President on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, which itself lapsed in March 2005 and has not been reconstituted due to political disagreements among parliamentary parties over filling the final spot on the 10 member panel.
The deadlock has already resulted in the collapse of the National Police Commission and the Judicial Services Commission, which are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the police and the judiciary respectively. With the collapse of the independent commissions, the administrative powers have reverted to the police chief in the case of the police department and the chief justice in the judiciary.
“The important work of the Commission is likely to be severely disrupted as the current term of the Commissioners ends on Monday 3 April, with no new members selected to take their place,” said Amnesty International.
With the collapse of the rights commission, the investigations would have to stop, reported the Daily Mirror newspaper.
“With human rights under grave threat each and every day, the government should ensure the continued functioning of the Human Rights Commission as a priority,” said Amnesty’s Kavita Menon.
“In the longer term, the Commission must be strengthened further, including by providing it with adequate funds, and expanding its powers to carry out independent investigations and bring cases directly to the courts,” she added.
On Friday Amnesty International called for “immediate action to preserve the country’s key institution responsible for the protection of human rights”.
“Given the serious and widespread abuses of human rights that affect Sri Lankans across the country, a fully functional, independent national human rights commission is essential,” said Kavita Menon, South Asia researcher at Amnesty International. “Victims of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka have too little recourse to justice and redress as it is.”
Outgoing HRC chairperson Radhika Coomaraswamy, who last month was appointed as the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, has warned that without urgent action by the government, “there will be a real crisis”.
The HRC carries out investigations into cases of torture, ‘disappearances’, political killings and other human rights violations. It also acts to promote and protect human rights. The rights commission has sweeping powers to investigate allegations of excesses by the police and the security forces. It is also empowered to investigate public services for any violation of fundamental rights.
The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said that Sri Lanka’s commission was set up in the early 1990s to “introduce some semblance of accountability into the system,” but that was in danger of being undermined without staff.
The AHRC executive director Basil Fernando said he believed the real problem was the “government’s deliberate attempts” to place all independent commissions under its direct control and to discourage the monitoring of government agencies in any form.
Appointments to the HRC are to be made by the President on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, which itself lapsed in March 2005 and has not been reconstituted due to political disagreements among parliamentary parties over filling the final spot on the 10 member panel.
The deadlock has already resulted in the collapse of the National Police Commission and the Judicial Services Commission, which are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the police and the judiciary respectively. With the collapse of the independent commissions, the administrative powers have reverted to the police chief in the case of the police department and the chief justice in the judiciary.
“The important work of the Commission is likely to be severely disrupted as the current term of the Commissioners ends on Monday 3 April, with no new members selected to take their place,” said Amnesty International.
With the collapse of the rights commission, the investigations would have to stop, reported the Daily Mirror newspaper.
“With human rights under grave threat each and every day, the government should ensure the continued functioning of the Human Rights Commission as a priority,” said Amnesty’s Kavita Menon.
“In the longer term, the Commission must be strengthened further, including by providing it with adequate funds, and expanding its powers to carry out independent investigations and bring cases directly to the courts,” she added.