UN Human Rights body express deep concern over two draft bills in Sri Lanka
The UN’s top Human Rights body has expressed serious concerns over two bills under consideration in the Sri Lankan Parliament saying they are not in line with international norms.
In a statement on Friday (12) Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights outlined their dismay and fear about protection of human rights in the nation.
“We have serious concerns over two bills under consideration in the Sri Lankan Parliament - the revised Anti-Terrorism Bill and the Online Safety Bill - which give the authorities a range of expansive powers and can impose restrictions on human rights, not in line with international human rights law”.
The Anti-Terrorism Bill is intended to replace the highly controversial and heavy criticized Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) which has been used as an oppressive tool and used disproportionately against the minorities.
PTA has long been of concern to the UN human rights mechanisms Ms. Shamdasani said in her statement. While certain provisions like abolition of death penalty find a place in the draft aimed at replacing the PTA the UNHRC spokesperson says major concerns regarding its discriminatory effects still exists.
“Restrictions to the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are very likely to fail to meet requirements of necessity and proportionality”.
The Bill still includes an overly broad definition of terrorism and grants wide powers to the police - and to the military - to stop, question and search, and to arrest and detain people, with inadequate judicial oversight her statement adds.
“Other issues remain over the imposition of curfews, restriction orders and the designation of prohibited places, all of which raise concerns about the scope of powers granted to the executive without sufficient checks and balances”.
The Online Safety Bill, the UNHRC believes it will severely regulate and restrict online communication, including by the general public and will give authorities unfettered discretion to label and restrict expressions they disagree with as “false statements”.
Commenting further Ms. Shamdasani said many sections of the Bill contain vaguely-defined terms and definitions of offences which leave significant room for arbitrary and subjective interpretation, and could potentially criminalize nearly all forms of legitimate expression, creating an environment that has a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
The UN Human Rights Office has urged the Government to undertake further meaningful consultation with civil society and UN independent experts and make substantial revisions of the draft laws in order to bring them into full compliance with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations.
