INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS (ICJ) SUBMISSION TO THE
UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW OF SRI LANKA
ICJ STAKEHOLDER SUBMISSION ON THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW OF SRI LANKA16 April 2012
Under the second cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on the UPR will be undertaking a review of Sri Lanka during its 14th session in October/November 2012. In a submission to the Working Group, the International Commission of Jurists has focused on the discrete issues of: (1) the failure of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and previous national commissions of inquiry to hold accountable those responsible for serious human rights violations; (2) the systemic barriers affecting the efficacy of thehabeas corpus writ as legal remedy for arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance; (3) the ongoing detention of Sri Lankans in “rehabilitation camps” and the lack of any independent monitoring mechanism; (4) Sri Lanka’s failure to implement witness protection measures; (5) Sri Lanka’s failure to properly incorporate the Convention Against Torture into domestic law; and (6) Sri Lanka’s party status to international human rights instruments and its cooperation with the UN treaty bodies and the Council’s Special Procedures.
