Colombo, July 04 (Daily Mirror) - The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has told the Government that the draft Anti-Terrorism Bill retains and expands the shortcomings identified in the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), while introducing new risks and concerns.
According to comments submitted to the Government earlier, the OHCHR has raised concerns over the over-criminalisation resulting from vague and expansive definitions and prohibited acts; the suppression of the protected freedoms of expression, assembly, association and the media, resulting in an increasingly restricted civic space; broad executive powers with limited safeguards and oversight; arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention without effective judicial oversight and review; exposure to torture, other forms of ill-treatment and enforced disappearance; and inadequate due process and fair trial protections.
However, the Government is currently in the process of redrafting the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (PSTA) in keeping with concerns raised by different quarters. The OHCHR has noted that substantive redrafting of the PSTA Bill is required to ensure that Sri Lanka's counter-terrorism framework conforms to the international law principles of legality, necessity and proportionality, and that it does not perpetuate the serious human rights violations associated with the implementation of the PTA, including arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, torture and enforced disappearances.
The OHCHR said it welcomes the Government's intention to replace the PTA with legislation that complies with international human rights norms and standards, as recommended by the High Commissioner and UN human rights mechanisms.
However, while the draft Bill contains some improvements, including the removal of a provision allowing confessions made to a police officer while in custody to be admitted as evidence, it still contains multiple provisions that are contrary to the State's obligations under international human rights law and domestic constitutional guarantees, and risks the recurrence of the serious human rights violations observed under the PTA.
The OHCHR has urged the Government to substantially overhaul the current draft and engage in a genuine and inclusive consultation process with civil society and other stakeholders to ensure that the proposed law is fully compliant with Sri Lanka's international human rights obligations and does not replicate the structural and operational flaws identified in the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The OHCHR also reiterated its call for a moratorium on the use of the PTA.
According to the OHCHR, the PSTA fails to sufficiently narrow the definition of terrorism or acts of terrorism, as repeatedly recommended by the Office. Instead, Section 3 of the draft Bill provides a definition of terrorism that covers a broad range of alternative intent and conduct requirements, many of which rely on broad and ambiguous criteria that go beyond the elements of the crime of terrorism set out in Security Council Resolution 1566 (2004), the model definition of terrorism recommended by the UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, and the OHCHR Guidance Note on Defining Terrorism in Domestic Criminal Legislation.
The proposed definition of terrorism also incorporates a broad purpose element that goes beyond international standards and guidance. These standards limit the crime of terrorism to intentional violent acts that result in serious outcomes, namely death, serious bodily injury or hostage-taking, committed with the purpose of provoking a state of terror among the public or compelling a government or an international organisation to carry out, or refrain from carrying out, a particular act, the OHCHR said.
