COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

7 MARCH 2012 SRI LANKA
―By statute the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) had wide powers and
resources and could not be called as a witness in any court of law or be sued for
matters relating to its official duties. However, in practice the SLHRC rarely used its
powers, and there were reports of a large backlog of cases with virtually no action by
the commission during the year. Rather than taking an investigative approach to
determining the facts and details of human rights cases, the SLHRC instead took a
more tribunal-like approach, weighing only the evidence brought to it in deciding
whether to pursue a case. In 2007 the International Coordinating Committee of National
Human Rights Institutions downgraded the SLHRC to observer status, citing
governmental interference in the work of the SLHRC.‖
See the SLHRC website for more information about the organisation.
8.65 On 3 March 2011 the website on the HRCSL 181 noted:
―Inquiry and Investigation Division of HRCSL has released a summary report of
complaints, which were received during the year 2010. According to sources HRCSL
received 9901 complaints this year. The head office received 4205 complaints and ten
regional offices received 5696 complaints. Compared to the previous year the statistics
indicate a reduction of 21 percent.
―The receipt of complaints by regional offices are as follows; Kandy – 579, Matara –
542, Anuradhapura – 605, Ampara – 169, Badulla – 195, Jaffna – 243, Tricomalee –
188, Vavuniya – 2642, Kalmunai – 204 and Batticaloa – 329.
―Out of the complaints more than 14 percent of complaints were employment related
issues. Other significant complaints included instances of torture, arrest, detentions,
harassment and complications in school admission to popular schools.‖
8.66 The UNCAT‘s Concluding Observations 182 of 25 November 2011 observed:
―16. While noting the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka‘s (HRCSL) broad inquiry
powers to investigate human rights violations vested in Section 11 of the Human Rights
Commission Act No 21 of 1996, the Committee is concerned about its reported
inactivity, the lack of cooperation from the police and the government and the limited
resources and challenges to its independence and impartiality as a result of the 18th
Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which places the appointment of its
members solely in the hands of the Head of State.‖
Witness protection
8.67 The USSD 2010 report 183 observed that ―At year's [2010] end there was no functioning
witness protection program.‖
181 Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, HRCSL received 9901 complaints in the year 2010, 3 March
2011 http://hrcsl.lk/english/?p=1543 date accessed 11 May 2011
182 UNCAT, Forty-seventh session, 31 October–25 November 201, Consideration of reports submitted by
States parties under article 19 of the Convention, Advance Unedited Version, Concluding observations of
the Committee against Torture, 25 November 2011
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/co/CAT.C.LKA.CO.3-4_en.doc
Date accessed 13 January 2012
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.
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