All C’wealth Members Should Refuse To Attend CHOGM Until Visa Ban Is Lifted – C’wealth Lawyers Association
November 13, 2013
The Commonwealth Lawyers Association wants all members of the Commonwealth to refuse to attend CHOGM until the visa ban of the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute’s high-level delegation is lifted.
Issuing a statement CLA says; The CLA considers that all members of the Commonwealth should refuse to attend CHOGM until the visa ban is lifted and, further, that the BASL/IBAHRI event should be allowed to proceed as originally planned without any further interference.
We publish below the statement in full;
Statement on Denied Entry to IBAHRI Delegation in Advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Sri Lanka
Gabriela Knaul
The Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) is dismayed and concerned that members of an International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) high-level delegation were denied entry into Sri Lanka on 7th November 2013. The delegation included the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, and the first UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Param Cumaraswamy. Entry was denied in spite of visas having been granted and in accordance with normal procedures.
The CLA notes the statement issued by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) on 9th November 2013 reiterating the fact that the delegation was due to travel to participate in a joint event co-hosted by the BASL and the IBAHRI entitled ‘Making Commonwealth Values a Reality: the Rule of Law and the Independence of the Legal Profession’. The event was intended to facilitate discussion of the Commonwealth’s fundamental values in relation to the legal profession and the Rule of Law more broadly. The CLA further notes that all of the arrangements for the event were handled by the BASL and the IBAHRI in accordance with the usual procedures.
