State of Human Rights in Sri Lanka on 60th anniversary of UDHR

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 08:04 GMT]
Although it is sixty years since 'Ceylon' as the Island was then known gained independence from Britain, and sixty years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations, Tamils of Sri Lanka are yet to enjoy the benefits of UDHR. According to the Annual Report for 2007 of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), more than 5000 cases of disappearances are pending without clarification from the Sri Lankan Government. Data shows that there are more extra-judicial killings in the East now after the Government’s celebrated 'liberation of the East'.

While the first Article in the Universal declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted sixty years ago by the UN General Assembly states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, the reality in Sri Lanka is far from this ideal.

"Held only by human beings, but equally by all, it does not flow from any office, rank or relationship. Human Rights is the language that systematically embodies the intuition that human species is one and each of the individual who composes it is entitled to equal moral consideration." (Michael Ignatiff:2001)

Human Rights are rights inherent to all human beings, irrespective of nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, or language. All are equally entitled to Human Rights without discrimination. These rights are interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

However, to experience that it is not universal, one should try to travel around the world with a passport from a country in the South like Sri Lanka or an African country. There are instances where even eminent persons going to a western country to participate in a conference or seminar on Human Rights being refused a visa. It has become even more difficult in a post 9/11 world. If you belong to a minority community you may easily fall into the 'terrorist' category and viewed with suspicion whilst the 'ethnic majority' belonging to the ruling class may not face this difficulty even if they are part and parcel of the 'State terrorism' being the main violators of the 'right to life' as it happens with officials from the Sri Lankan regime.

In the 'national context', we have seen the concept of 'indivisibility' of Human Rights' being thrown away by people like the former Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, Laxman Kadirgamar. To him the only violation of Human Rights was the 'recruitment of child soldiers'. While child labour and sexual abuse of children in the beaches by foreign tourists were rampant, and while Sri Lanka Air Force killed scores of children by bombing schools in Naakar Koayil and Navaali Church, only “child soldiers” were of any concern to the Minister. He used only one sub-article in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to advance the Government’s propaganda against the Tigers.

The present government is worse, killing 52 children and injuring hundreds of them at Vallipunam inside the Chegnchoalai complex in the Northern Vanni region and school children in Kathirave'li in the East of the Island.

Data shows that there are more extra-judicial killings in the East now after the Government’s celebrated 'liberation of the East'.

Human rights are violated daily as hundreds of Tamil youth are arrested on suspicion under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency Regulations. They are being held at Boosa detention centre and other prisons without any charges filed against them. If they are released question of 'reparation' had never been considered.

In Sri Lanka, Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which entitles everyone to freedom of opinion and expression, is ignored. Reputed journalist and the 'Reporters without Borders' nominee for their award this year, J.S.Tissainayagam, is languishing in the Magazine prison along with the common criminals. Tissainayagam was indicted under the PTA for airing his views as a journalist on the ongoing war efforts of the Government of the day. Nimalarajan, a BBC correspondent from Jaffna, and D.Sivaram, a popular military analyst and a senior editor of TamilNet, were killed allegedly by paramilitaries collaborating with Colombo.

According to the Annual Report for 2007 of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), more than 5000 cases of disappearances are pending without clarification from the Sri Lankan Government. Majority of the disappeared persons are Tamil. Dr. Raveendranath, former Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University disappeared in front of the Bandaranayake International Memorial Hall (BMICH) and Chinese Embassy inside the High Security Zone in Colombo. Abductors were never caught, and investigations by the law enforcement officials have not turned up any details on the abductors.

The National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has not been appointed as mandated by the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. The Commission members should have been selected by the constitution council. Instead the Sri Lankan President has appointed the members not even consulting the civil society organisations. The National Human Rights Institutions Forum has demoted Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) to observer status from being a member. After losing the membership in the Human Rights Council at the United Nations, Sri Lankan Delegation is delegated to the company of the Sudanese delegation at the last row of the council.

Having signed the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Government of Sri Lanka has not implemented the views expressed by the Human Rights Committee in the cases (Communications) in re Thevarajah Sharma and Nallaratnam Singarasa.

Although it is sixty years since 'Ceylon' as the Island was then known gained independence from Britain, and sixty years since the UDHR was adopted by the United Nations, Tamils of Sri Lanka are yet to enjoy the benefits of UDHR.

Tamil people can overcome this trap only if they stay focused on their inherent right to self determination, placed crucially in the first article of each of the two major human rights covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Intrnational Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).