COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
Human Rights
7. INTRODUCTION
7.01 The US State Department 2010 Human Rights Report: Sri Lanka (USSD 2010),
released on 8 April 2011 114 , observed:
―[In 2010] The government and its agents continued to be responsible for serious
human rights problems. Security forces committed arbitrary and unlawful killings,
although the number of extrajudicial killings declined. Disappearances continued to be a
problem, although the total also declined. Many independent observers cited a
continued climate of fear among minority populations, in large part based on past
incidents. Security forces tortured and abused detainees; poor prison conditions
remained a problem; and authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens.
Repercussions of the nearly 30-year war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) continued to have an effect on human rights, despite the defeat of the LTTE in
May 2009. In an effort to prevent any violent separatist resurgence, the government
continued to search for and detain persons it suspected of being LTTE sympathizers or
operatives. Official impunity was a problem; there were no public indications or reports
that civilian or military courts convicted any military or police members for human rights
abuses. The government established a post-war Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation
Commission (LLRC). Denial of fair public trial remained a problem; the judiciary was
subject to executive influence; and the government infringed on citizens' privacy rights.
There were instances when the government restricted freedom of speech and of the
press, and there were incidents of restrictions on freedom of assembly and association.
Authorities harassed journalists critical of the government.
―Violence and discrimination against women were problems, as were abuse of children
and trafficking in persons. Discrimination against persons with disabilities, persons with
HIV/AIDS, and the ethnic Tamil minority continued, and a disproportionate number of
victims of human rights violations were Tamils. Discrimination and violence against
persons based on their sexual orientation were problems. Trafficking in persons, limits
on workers' rights, and child labor remained problems, although the parliament
implemented new regulations on child labor at the end of the year [2010].‖
7.02 Human Rights and Democracy: The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report -
Section VII: Human Rights in Countries of Concern 115 , release on 31 March 2011
observed:
―The number of reports of violent human rights violations fell in 2010 as the security
situation improved following the end of the military conflict; long-standing Emergency
Regulations were partially lifted; and the humanitarian situation improved significantly.
However, the overall human rights position in Sri Lanka remained a concern. Despite
the end of the fighting, there continued to be human rights violations in 2010, including
114 US State Department 2010 Human Rights Report: Sri Lanka (USSD 2010), released on 8 April 2011,
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/sca/154486.htm , date accessed 11 May 2011, Introduction
115 Human Rights and Democracy: The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report - Section VII:
Human Rights in Countries of Concern, released on 31 March 2011
http://centralcontent.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/human-rights-reports/accessible-hrd-report-2010 date
accessed 24 May 2011
60 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.