COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
8.30 The Sri Lanka Department for Census and Statistics (Statistical Abstract 2010 149 –
Chapter XIII - Social Conditions, Grave crimes by type of crime, 2005 - 2009, (undated,
website accessed on 1 June 2011) recorded that in 2009 there were in total 947 cases
of abduction/kidnapping . The figures for 2006; 2007 and 2008 were respectively: 1,190;
1,229 and 1,239.
Torture
8.31 The UK Border Agency Country of Origin Information (COI) Bulletin: Recent reports on
Torture and ill-treatment, published on 30 November 2011 150 brings to the attention of
decision makers a number of reports released between September and November 2011
which document torture and other forms of ill-treatment in Sri Lanka. It provides a
selection of extracts from the sources as a guide to the general content of the reports,
with a focus on events in 2011. However the Bulletin is not intended to be
comprehensive or detailed in its coverage and officials are advised to read all the
reports in full. The Bulletin had the following three main sections: 1) Submissions to UN
Committee Against Torture (UNCAT); 2) Other recent reports; 3) UNCAT‘s Examination
and Concluding Observations. The November 2011 COI Bulletin – and the reports
referred to in the Bulletin - should be read in full in conjunction with all the information
provided in this section of the report.
8.32 Section 1 of the COI Bulletin of November 2011 151 ―provides information from reports
submitted by 12 local and international Non Government Organisations (NGOs) to the
United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT). The reports were considered in
the UNCAT‟s 47th session in Geneva in November 2011 during which there was an
open session on the prevalence of torture and ill treatment in Sri Lanka.‖ It also provides
direct access to the reports submitted by those 12 NGOs which included (amongst
others): Amnesty International; Freedom from Torture; the International Commission of
Jurists; Lawyers‘ Rights Watch Canada; REDRESS; NGO Collective; Tamil Information
Centre; TRIAL.
8.33 Section 1 of the COI Bulletin of November 2011 152 - which should be consulted in its
entirety - reported inter alia the following:
149 Sri Lanka Department of Census and Statistics, Statistical Abstract 2010 – Chapter XIII - Social
Conditions, Grave crimes by type of crime, 2005 - 2009,
http://www.statistics.gov.lk/abstract2010/chapters/Chap13/AB13-13.pdf undated, website accessed on 1
June 2011
150 UK Border Agency, Country of Origin Information (COI) Bulletin: Recent reports on Torture and ill-
treatment, 30 November 2011
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/coi/srilanka12/bulletin-
11111.pdf?view=Binary date accessed 13 January 2012
151 UK Border Agency, Country of Origin Information (COI) Bulletin: Recent reports on Torture and ill-
treatment, 30 November 2011
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/coi/srilanka12/bulletin-
11111.pdf?view=Binary date accessed 13 January 2012
152 UK Border Agency, Country of Origin Information (COI) Bulletin: Recent reports on Torture and ill-
treatment, 30 November 2011
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/coi/srilanka12/bulletin-
11111.pdf?view=Binary date accessed 13 January 2012
72 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.