{"id":99536,"date":"2020-03-02T15:33:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T22:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=99536"},"modified":"2020-03-02T15:33:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T22:33:59","slug":"interactive-dialogue-with-the-special-rapporteur-on-freedom-of-religion-or-belief-on-the-report-of-his-visit-to-sri-lanka-a-hrc-43-48-add-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/03\/02\/interactive-dialogue-with-the-special-rapporteur-on-freedom-of-religion-or-belief-on-the-report-of-his-visit-to-sri-lanka-a-hrc-43-48-add-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief on the report of his visit to Sri Lanka (A\/HRC\/43\/48\/Add.2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Statement by Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Madam\nPresident, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka takes note of the report of Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on\nfreedom of religion or belief following his visit to Sri Lanka from 15 to 26\nAugust 2019, which has been presented to this Council today (A\/HRC\/43\/48\/Add.2).\nThe advanced unedited report of the Special Rapporteur (SR) was shared with Sri\nLanka, for comments, on 3 February 2020, with a deadline of 28 February 2020,\ni.e. last Friday, leading to an Interactive Dialogue thereon today – Monday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However,\nwithin the limited time available, Sri Lanka wishes to provide some general observations\non the SR\u2019s report. We request that our full observations, which will follow,\nbe published as part of the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka received the SR in August 2019, barely 4 months after the country had\nsuffered a series of horrendous terrorist attacks by certain local groups inspired\nby ISIS which targeted innocent civilians at worship and at hotels on Easter\nSunday, causing the death of 258, including 45 foreign holiday makers. The\nfacilitation of the visit, at a time of numerous national challenges, was a manifestation\nof the Government\u2019s policy of open and constructive dialogue with UN human\nrights mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npeople of Sri Lanka have lived amicably despite racial and religious\ndifferences for centuries, and continue to do so. Having suffered the scourge\nof separatist terrorism for nearly three-decades, they had been enjoying their\nhard-won peace and freedom, and had embarked on the path of reconciliation and\nnational healing over the last decade. However, the Easter Sunday attacks\nreminded us that we are fighting a common adversary in terrorism,\nradicalization and extremism, which is a global threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nthis context, we consider it unfortunate that the SR\u2019s report has, to a large\nextent, sought to judge the space for freedom of religion or belief in Sri\nLanka through the few months that followed the Easter Sunday attacks. As may be\nrecalled, the scale of these attacks brought about a national emergency in Sri\nLanka which called for prompt action by the State to identify and neutralize\nterrorist elements in different parts of the country in the interest of safety\nand security of all communities, while maintaining the delicate balance between\nnational security and human rights. In the aftermath of the attacks, the\nGovernment immediately took all possible measures to prevent any retributive\nacts of civil unrest, maintain law and order, and most importantly to ensure\nthe safety and security of all people, particularly the Muslim community. The\nconstructive and reconciliatory approaches and calls made by the civil and\npolitical leadership of the country which helped contain the situation were\nwidely acknowledged and appreciated. The Muslim community particularly took\nproactive measures to cooperate with the security agencies in their\ninvestigations and search operations. Suspects who were arrested were afforded\ntheir legal safeguards and independent institutions were provided access to\nmonitor their situation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nincidents of mob violence that occurred 3 weeks after the terrorist attacks\nwere not communally motivated but caused by unruly elements. These mobs were\nefficaciously neutralised by the Government through a number of arrests and by\nbringing to justice alleged perpetrators. The country fast returned to\nnormalcy, reassuring the safety and security of all Sri Lankans and visitors to\nthe country. Through giving effect to relevant legal provisions and following necessary\nlegal processes, order and rule of law has been firmly re-established. The\nsecurity forces of Sri Lanka merit particular commendation for their prompt and\nprofessional action in this regard.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore,\nthe Government rejects the inaccurate references in the SR\u2019s report to serious\nconcerns\u201d regarding Sri Lankan security forces colluding with mobs and not\nacting to prevent or stop the violence\u201d; the lack of response from the\nauthorities against this violence\u201d; and the claims that acts of violence are\nindulged by the silence and inaction from the authorities\u201d. It is regrettable\nthat these inaccurate accounts have been included in the report, even after they\nhave been fully rebutted and explained by the Government soon after the alleged\nincidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also\nregrettable that the report has sought to portray instances where criminal\ninvestigations have been conducted to prevent acts of terrorism in accordance with\nthe law, as an endeavor to violate the freedom of religion or belief.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\nregard to references to restrictions on dress code, it is noted that the\nregulation concerned was a temporary measure under the Emergency Regulations aimed\nat preventing concealing of identity, in view of the imminent security threat that\nexisted at the time. In this regard, we wish to draw the attention of the\nCouncil that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)[1]<\/a>\nitself has permitted limitations by law to the freedom to manifest one’s\nreligion or beliefs for the purposes of protecting public safety, order,\nhealth, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka also categorically rejects the inaccurate assertion in the report that\nthe ICCPR Act has not been applied to protect minorities but has become a repressive\ntool\u201d curtailing freedom of religion or belief. In this regard, we wish to\npoint out that since its enactment in 2007 to date, 90% of the suspects who\nwere arrested under the ICCPR Act have been from the majority Sinhala community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\nregard to comments made in the report about alleged discrimination based on\nsupremacy\u201d of Buddhism over other religions, we wish to highlight that Article\n9 the Constitution requires the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana\nwhile assuring all religions the rights granted under the Constitution. No\nprovision in Sri Lanka\u2019s Constitution or national laws permits discrimination\nof an individual based on religion or belief in any sphere of public life. On\nthe contrary, Article 12 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on race,\nreligion, language, caste, sex, political opinion, place of birth or any such\ngrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the\nSR\u2019s report,certain instances,\ndeterminations of the Supreme Court have been inaccurately reflected based on\nsurmise. In certain other instances, the Constitutional provisions have been\ninaccurately reflected, for example, the SR\u2019s comments on the right to\nproselytize and conversion which are an inaccurate reflection of the\ndetermination of the Supreme Court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nreport has failed to adequately discuss the drivers and root causes of\nradicalization of youth from one particular religious community to the extent\nof engaging in acts of terrorism, and appears to lack inputs from a broader\nspectrum of Sri Lankan society, including family members of victims and suspects,\nas well as other neutral groups. In describing attacks against and desecration\nof places of worship, the report has failed to refer to incidents of attacks on\nand vandalizing of Buddhist places of worship and instances of obstruction of Buddhist\ndevotes in certain areas of the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report\nalso fails to adequately address positive measures undertaken by the Government\nand the law enforcement agencies to foster religious harmony, such as addressing\nextremist elements on all sides, payment of compensation through the Office for\nReparations to victims of violence, and setting up of mechanisms such as an Inter-Religious\nCouncil. It is unfortunate that the resilience and solidarity of Sri Lankans\nprotecting and assisting fellow citizens of all faiths in the aftermath of\nApril 21, as demonstrated by Buddhists and Christians guarding Muslims at\nprayer, renovation of damaged property and restoration of damaged churches by\nthe security forces, have not been reflected in the report. Nor has the\nlaudable role played by the independent institutions of Sri Lanka, such as the\nHuman Rights Commission, during this challenging period, received the attention\nthat it warrants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nreport notes that the school curriculum should be designed to include human\nrights education\u201d, whereas human rights education is already part of the national\ncurriculum in schools. There are a number of co-curricular programmes and activities\nbeing planned and delivered at various levels, including at schools, to foster\ngreater understanding amongst school children from different communities and\nreligions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nGoSL wishes to reiterate that the State possesses credible agencies, the capacity\nand the necessary legal framework to address the issues of concern. Sri Lanka remains committed to\nprotecting and promoting the freedom of conscience and religion of all its\npeople, in accordance with the Constitution of the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We look forward to continuing to engage\nwith the Special Rapporteur and this Council in a constructive and meaningful\nmanner towards this end.           <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank\nyou
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> Article\n18(3)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Statement by Sri Lanka Madam President, Sri Lanka takes note of the report of Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief following his visit to Sri Lanka from 15 to 26 August 2019, which has been presented to this Council today (A\/HRC\/43\/48\/Add.2). The advanced unedited report of the Special Rapporteur (SR) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99536\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}