Please - Odhikar

V ictim and witness protection - Sri Lankan
perspective
By Rukshan Fernando (Ruki)*, Sri Lanka
1. Role of Victims and Witnesses in Promoting and Protecting Human Rights:
Significance of Victims and Witness testimonies: In Sri Lanka (and generally in Asia) where
the use of scientifically advanced techniques to investigate crimes and human rights violation
are not so common, either due to lack of political will or ignorance of due authorities, the
testimonies of victims and witnesses are all the more important.
Victims becoming Witnesses: More and more victims of human rights violations are bravely
coming out to file action against perpetrators and to seek justice. In this process, they become
key witnesses, and their testimonies become crucial in ensuring justice and holding human rights
violators accountable.
Witnesses becoming victims: In addition to the victim's own testimony, the testimony of others
is equally important in upholding the rule of law and justice. Unfortunately, more and more
witnesses are also becoming victims if human rights violations for the sole reason of living up to
their consciousness and bearing witness to human rights violations.
Primary role of the state: Victims and witnesses are entitled to the full protection and security
entitled to all citizens under a national legal regime- in addition to the human rights obligations
on the concerned state. This indeed is a minimum standard, and underlines a state's
responsibility to protect its citizens under any and all circumstances.
2. Looking at victims and witnesses from the framework of Human Rights
Defenders:
� By virtue of participating actively in pursing justice against human rights violations,
victims and witnesses become active Human Rights Defenders.
� The rights of human rights defenders and state's obligations to uphold these right and
ensure a safe and conducive atmosphere for all such activities, is clearly laid out in the Human
Rights Defenders Declaration. (Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals,
Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms-1988)
� In the light of the HRDs declaration:
� Victims and Witnesses have a right to give evidence and testimony (Article 1: Everyone has
the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection
and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms)
Report 2005
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