HRC Postpones Set Up Of Torture Commission On Alleged Requests By CSOs – Rights Now Asks Chairman To Name The Orgs
December 14, 2013
After the Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma announced confidently that the Sri Lankan Government would set up a Commission on Torture under the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) shortly before CHOGM in Colombo, reports have emerged that the establishment of the commission is to be postponed.
According to a newspaper report which quoted unnamed sources, the decision to postpone the establishment of the commission was take by the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, together with the Commonwealth Secretariat Human Rights Unit, responding to a request made by several civil society organisations who had sought a postponement of the investigations.
Sharma
The Rights Now Collective, today wrote to the Chairman of the HRCSL Prathibha Mahanama, asking him to confirm the veracity of the report and also divulge the names of the civil society organisations that made the request.
“Subsequent to this report, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and other civil society organisations working to strengthen human rights protection in our country have had a number of inquiries from the media, seeking to ascertain as to whether any of us either individually or collectively made such a request. We have informed the media that no such communication was initiated with the Human Rights Commission by us or indeed by the Commission,” Sudarshana Gunawardana, Attorney-at-Law and Executive Director of the Rights Now Collective for Democracy said in his letter to the Chairman.
The Collective has also asked the HRCSL Chairman to publish the names of those organisations that made the request in the media without delay.
The letter from the Collective has been copied to the Commonwealth Human Rights Unit.
The Rights Now Collective for Democracy has issued the letter to the HRCSL Chairman on behalf of 15 civil society organisations and civil society representatives: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Dr. Nimalka Fernando, Chairperson, IMADR-Asia, J. C. Weliamuna, Attorney-at-Law, Convener, Lawyers for Democracy, Mala Liyanage, Executive Director, Law and Society Trust (LST), Ruki Fernando, INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre, Rathika Innasimuttu, The Social Architechts (TSA), Britto Fernando, President, Families of the Disappeared (FoD), Shreen Saroor, Women’s Action Network (WAN), Philip Dissanayake, Executive Secretary, Right to Life Human Rights Centre, Kusal Perera (Citizen’s Rights), Muhammad Muzzammil Cader, Non-Violent Peoples Movement, Ainslie Joseph, Convener, Christian Alliance for Social Action, Ferddy Gamage, Coordinator, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Herman Kumara, Convener, National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) and Padmini Weerasooriya, Mothers and Daughters of Lanka
The following is the full text of the letter:
Dear Sir,
I write with reference to a report in the Sunday Leader newspaper of the 8th of December 2103 regarding the proposed commission on Torture to be established under the aegis of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission. The report states that the establishment of such a commission is to be postponed. In particular, it states that:
“This decision was taken by the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, together with the Commonwealth Secretariat Human Rights Unit, responding to a request made by several civil society organisations who had sought a postponement of the investigations,” sources said.
Subsequent to this report, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and other civil society organisations working to strengthen human rights protection in our country have had a number of inquiries from the media, seeking to ascertain as to whether any of us either individually or collectively made such a request. We have informed the media that no such communication was initiated with the Human Rights Commission by us or indeed by the Commission.
Given the importance of the issue and the misunderstanding created in the media and accordingly in the general public, we write to ascertain from you the veracity of this report and if confirmed, the names of the organisations which made such a request. Further, we request you in the public interest to publish the names of the organisations in the media without delay.
In the public interest, we will be copying this letter to the Commonwealth Secretariat Human Rights Unit and releasing this letter to the media.
Thank you for your cooperation
Await your response
Yours sincerely,
