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‘Security Clearance’ marriage regulations challenged

27 Dec 2021

  • Lawyer complains to HRCSL
BY Pamodi Waravita Attorney-At-Law (AAL) Thishya Weragoda has filed a complaint at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) yesterday (27) against the new regulations which state that the marriage between a foreigner and a Sri Lankan citizen needs a security clearance from the Defence Ministry. “I don’t want my own children to suffer from these new regulations either. It is absurd because this is a visa issue that the authorities are attempting to solve by governing marriages. If the authorities have an issue with a spouse of any Sri Lankan citizen, then they can ban them from entry into the country by not issuing a spousal visa. But the authorities have no right to say who a Sri Lankan citizen should marry,” Weragoda told The Morning yesterday. He said that he has not yet decided on what next steps he would take; for example, whether to file a fundamental rights (FR) petition or not. “I do hope that the Defence Ministry will revisit this regulation though,” he added. The complaint has named Registrar General W.M.M.B. Weerasekara, Defence Ministry and National Security and Disaster Management State Ministry Secretary (Retd.) Gen. Kamal Gunaratne, and Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Sanjeewa H. Munasinghe as the respondents. The print media reported a couple of days ago that the aforementioned circular, which will come into effect from 1 January 2022, has mandated a “Security Clearance Report” from the Defence Ministry and health declaration forms from foreign citizens before they marry a Sri Lankan citizen. In his complaint to the HRCSL, Weragoda has stated that the aforementioned regulation is “illegal, unlawful, illogical, irrational, absurd, and an unconstitutional interference with the right of individuals to have their marriages registered under the provisions of the Marriage Registration Ordinance No. 19 of 1907”. “The freedom to marry a person of choice is part of the freedom of thought and conscience. It is noteworthy to mention that the purported requirement to obtain a ‘security clearance’ to marry a foreigner would necessarily imply that the Government and/or any ministry would have a veto on the freedom of thought and conscience of persons to marry,” the complaint noted. Registrar General Weerasekara had told the media over the weekend that the circular was drafted on the instructions of the Defence Ministry, as the authorities have seen foreigners marry Sri Lankan citizens for “ulterior motives” such as drug trafficking and money laundering whilst Prime Minister’s Co-ordinating Secretary Geethanath Cassilingham Tweeted on 26 December that Defence Ministry officials had informed him that the need for this circular arose as a result of increasing numbers of foreigners who arrive in Sri Lanka on a spousal visa in order to conduct illegal activities. However, Weragoda’s complaint said that, “in any event”, the “criminal records of persons who marry Sri Lankans is of no concern to the State since the criminal records of persons who marry locally are not screened at the time of marriage”. “As stated by the Registrar General, if the objective is to preserve and protect national security interests, what could be done is not to prohibit the registration of marriages to foreigners based on national security interests but have a better screening process in issuing spousal visas to such persons. In the circumstances, I urge the HRCSL to investigate this matter as that of priority and direct the Registrar General not to implement this purported circular with effect from 1 January 2022,” said the complaint. An official at the Registrar General’s Department told The Morning yesterday that the new regulations will not affect those holding a dual citizenship status or those who opt to marry under the law of another country.


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