|
|
|
 |
 |
|||
|
|
Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights strongly refutes the report submitted to the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee (commonly known as the Third Committee) of the United Nations General Assembly by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Mr. Manfred Nowak on Monday (29), in which he has stated that torture is “widely practiced in Sri Lanka”, said a press release issued by the Ministry. Such a conclusion did not find any place in Mr. Nowak’s preliminary findings, the release added. “The Government has adopted a “zero-tolerance” policy on torture and is closely studying Mr. Nowak’s preliminary recommendations with a view to strengthening local institutional and legal frameworks to ensure strict adherence with that policy”, it further said. The release: “The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Mr. Manfred Nowak was invited by the Government of Sri Lanka to visit Sri Lanka from 1 to 8 October 2007. Consequent to his mission, Mr. Nowak has made a presentation to the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee (commonly known as the Third Committee) of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday (29), in which he has stated that torture is “widely practiced in Sri Lanka”. Mr. Nowak reportedly acknowledges the Government’s disagreement with this position, which was communicated to the Special Rapporteur upon consideration of his preliminary findings. The Government’s view was based on statistics comparing allegations of torture received with the number of total arrests over a period of several years. Alleged instances of torture over a five-year period were consistently less than 0.02 percent per year of arrests made. “The UN News Service, purporting to cite Mr. Nowak, states that the practice of torture is “widespread”. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights strongly refutes any such conclusion, which did not find any place in Mr. Nowak’s preliminary findings. “Mr. Nowak, during his final briefing with Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe and senior government officials on 08 October, was asked to clarify his position with regard to the prevalence of torture. At the meeting Mr. Nowak made it clear that his usage of the term “widely practiced” was in reference to instances of alleged torture that he witnessed in diverse locations in the country and that such alleged instances did not relate exclusively or predominantly to the conflict or conflict affected areas. During the meeting Mr. Nowak also stated that, in his view, the use of torture was not “systematic” in Sri Lanka. “The Government in a spirit of openness, transparency and active engagement with UN Human Rights bodies and mechanisms, facilitated free access to places of detention (police stations and prisons of Mr. Nowak’s choice) in keeping with the requirements and mandate of the Special Rapporteur. Mr. Nowak in his letter of 12 October to Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, in which he communicated his preliminary findings, was appreciative of this “full cooperation” on the part of the Government. Mr. Nowak also thanked the Police and Prison’s Departments for “opening up the prisons and police detention facilities without restrictions, including carrying out unannounced visits, and enabling [him] to conduct private interviews with detainees”. Appreciating the difficult local context and challenges, he further stated: “I should state that I have full appreciation for the challenges the Government faces from the violent and long-lasting conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Notwithstanding the difficult security situation the Government is faced with, Sri Lanka in principle is still able to uphold its democratic principles, ensure activities of civil society organizations and media, and maintain an independent judiciary.” “In accordance with consistently applied policy in relation to high profile international visitors, he was not facilitated access to uncleared areas. The Government took serious note of observations made by the Special Rapporteur relating to the allegation of corporal punishment at Bogambara Prison and allegations of torture by the Police’s Terrorist Investigation Division – supposedly in retaliation for communication by the detainees with Mr. Nowak. In the former case, disciplinary proceedings have commenced against the prison official concerned and, in the latter, detainees have been examined by the JMO. “The Government has adopted a “zero-tolerance” policy on torture and is closely studying Mr. Nowak’s preliminary recommendations with a view to strengthening local institutional and legal frameworks to ensure strict adherence with that policy. Mr. Nowak’s positive comments on the range of measures already taken to combat torture in Sri Lanka are appreciated and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights will take steps to seek assistance from UN and other international partners to strengthen local capacities in ensuring that effective action is taken to prevent torture and against perpetrators of torture. Thus Mr. Nowak’s prediction that torture is “prone to become routine in the context of counter-terrorism operations” may be preempted by timely action.”
|
|
Contact Information: Send mail to
