brand logo

Spotlight on torture

07 Apr 2019

By Easwaran Rutnam The ongoing visit to Sri Lanka by a UN torture body has put the spotlight back on Sri Lanka with regard to allegations of torture. Rights groups have now reiterated calls for accountability with even the UN saying that there is credible information asserting that torture did take place in Sri Lanka. A former member of a UN panel that investigated Sri Lanka said the Government of Sri Lanka had an obligation to investigate allegations of torture. International Truth and Justice Project (ITPJ) Executive Director Yasmin Sooka told The Sunday Morning that when a UN report is explicit about allegations of continuing abduction and torture being credible, then it’s disingenuous to keep on questioning whether this is true or why it hasn’t been investigated inside the country. Sooka was part of the UN-appointed Darusman Panel of Experts which investigated allegations on Sri Lanka after the war. “The UN High Commissioner’s report (paragraph 56) states unequivocally that there are reasonable grounds to believe that abduction, torture, sexual violence, and illegal detention by state forces in Sri Lanka continued under the current Government – hardly surprising, given the entrenched nature of decades of impunity dating back to the JVP period which involved serious crimes for which no one was held accountable,” she said. Credibility of allegations The ITJP has also documented 76 cases from 2015-17 while Freedom from Torture said they investigated 16 in the same time frame. “That’s more than 100 cases and should be of concern to all. But the UN report also assessed cases that occurred as recently as 2018 and it’s logical to assume that the UN must have had information independent of these organisations to reach the conclusion in the report,” Sooka told The Sunday Morning. “According to the High Commissioner, these violations continue to happen and perhaps the focus should be on countering impunity and ensuring accountability as well as prevention and the rehabilitation of victims, even if they’re now abroad,” she added. In 2016, ITJP offered to help the Government of Sri Lanka to put together an independent international body to investigate the violations along the lines of the International Commission Against Impunity (CICIG) in Guatemala, but the Government had not accepted the offer. Last year, President Maithripala Sirisena assured the Tamil community that his Government was not running any secret detention or torture camps in the country. However, in September last year, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) had written to the Government after the Government failed to respond to a report which called for information on the “establishment of a judicial mechanism” to investigate torture, as well as information on the role of a former Criminal Investigations Department (CID) head. “The information sought by the committee has not been provided yet, although more than one year has elapsed from the transmittal of the committee’s concluding observations,” CAT said in a letter sent to Sri Lankan Ambassador to Geneva. Measures against torture Last week, the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture arrived in Sri Lanka to carry out its first visit to the country. During its 2-12 April visit, the committee will examine the treatment of people deprived of their liberty and the safeguards in place for their protection against torture and ill-treatment. Freedom from Torture said that the presence of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture in Sri Lanka was a welcome step towards eradicating the practice of torture in Sri Lanka. Freedom from Torture Director of Policy and Advocacy Steven Crawshaw told The Sunday Morning that those who have allowed torture to persist must be held to account. "The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has recently drawn attention to credible information they have received which mirrors our forensically-tested evidence of ongoing torture in security operations. As well as a concrete plan to show how the Government intends to prevent torture, there must be full investigations into the systemic use of torture that our evidence highlights,” Crawshaw said. The four-member delegation of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture is to meet government officials and hold discussions with relevant ministries, as well as to meet with the Human Rights Commission and civil society organisations. Their talks in Colombo will focus on advising and assisting the Sri Lankan authorities regarding the measures they must take to be in compliance with the obligations contained in the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture. The subcommittee will also visit places of deprivation of liberty and hold discussions on Sri Lanka establishing an independent national preventive mechanism. The Optional Protocol, which Sri Lanka ratified in 2017, requires such a mechanism to be established with the authority and capacity to undertake preventive visits to any place where persons may be deprived of their liberty. “During our visit, we will be exploring the steps Sri Lanka needs to take to effectively prevent torture and ill-treatment of people deprived of their liberty,” said Victor Zaharia, who is heading the delegation. “We will also advise the authorities on the full implementation of their treaty obligations, including how they can best establish a national independent body to visit places of detention.” The delegation includes Head of Delegation Victor Zaharia (Republic of Moldova), Satyabhooshun Gupt Domah (Mauritius), Petros Michaelides (Cyprus), and June Lopez (Philippines).

Kapruka

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!


More News..