International community urges Sri Lanka to repeal PTA

During the 4th cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Sri Lanka was urged by the several members in the international community to both repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and decriminalize same-sex relationships. 

The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Norway were among the countries that urged the island to repeal the PTA and decriminalize same-sex relationships. 

US Human Rights Council Deputy Permanent Representative, Kelly Billingsley, stated that the US calls for the PTA to be replaced. Billingsley also stated that Sri Lanka needs to end all arbitrary detentions for freedom of expression.

Further, Billingsley said that the US has also called on the Sri Lankan government to ensure that the rights of LGBTQI+ persons are being respected. The US urged Sri Lanka to take steps to amend the penal code and decriminalize same-sex relations. 

During the review Billingsley stated "we recognize steps taken during the recent months to improve economic transparency in governance, however, we are concerned by the reports of abuse by the security force, the use of anti-terror legislation to detain human rights defenders and rise in corruption."

New Zealand called for the island to safeguard freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and to maintain regular election in accordance with the law. 

Responding to these requests, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry stated that Sri Lanka is in the process of establishing a truth-seeking mechanism. Sabry also added that a new security legislation which will replace the PTA is currently being finalized. 

Read more here

Add new comment

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Global and entity tokens are replaced with their values. Browse available tokens.

Restricted HTML

  • You can align images (data-align="center"), but also videos, blockquotes, and so on.
  • You can caption images (data-caption="Text"), but also videos, blockquotes, and so on.
  • Global and entity tokens are replaced with their values. Browse available tokens.
  • You can embed media items (using the <drupal-media> tag).

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

link button