A top United Nations official last week charged the Sri Lankan government with inability to rein in "widespread torture practised by security forces" against the Tamil population in the island.
But under pressure from the Sri Lankan government, which dismissed the reports saying it adopts a "zero-tolerance" policy on torture, he backed off, following in the footsteps of other international observers who have backed down in the face of the government’s aggression.
There is evidence that beatings, asphyxiations and burning are widely practiced by Sri Lankan security forces and use of torture is becoming routine during counter-terrorism operations, Manfred Novak, UN special rapportuer on Torture for the Human Rights Council, told the UN General Assembly committee dealing with social, humanitarian and cultural issues, known as the Third Committee.
However, Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe dismissed the UN official's comments, saying such conclusions did not figure in Nowak's preliminary findings.
"The Ministry of Human Rights strongly refutes any such conclusions which did not find any place in Novak's preliminary findings," he said.
On being challenged by Sri Lanka, Novak backed off – telling an interviewer “I should also say that notwithstanding the serious situation of armed conflict, Sri Lanka is a country that has managed to uphold an independent judiciary and a democratic system.”
On being challenged by Sri Lanka, Novak backed off – telling an interviewer “I should also say that notwithstanding the serious situation of armed conflict, Sri Lanka is a country that has managed to uphold an independent judiciary and a democratic system.”
“I should add that in many other countries that I have visited, there's real impunity that nobody has ever been brought to justice for torture. This is not the case in Sri Lanka; so much is done, has been done and the government by inviting me also proved that it's willing to cooperate with the United Nations and to further improve the situation,” he told Radio Australia – see transcript below.
"The high number of indictments for torture filed by the Attorney General's Office, the number of successful fundamental rights cases decided by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, as well as the high number of complaints that the National Human Rights Commission continues to receive on an almost daily basis indicates that torture is widely practiced in Sri Lanka," Novak said.
He made this observation along with a list of recommendations following a week-long visit to Sri Lanka in early October. The UN official urged the international community to assist Sri Lanka follow up on the recommendations.
During discussions with officials, Novak said that the use of torture was not systematic in Sri Lanka, Samarasinghe was quoted by AFP as saying.
"At the meeting, Mr. Novak made it clear that his usage of the term 'widely practised' was in reference to instances of alleged torture that he witnesses in diverse locations ... that such alleged instances did not relate exclusively or predominantly to the conflict or conflict-affected areas," AFP said quoting Samarasinghe.
Samarasinghe maintained that Sri Lanka had adopted a "zero-tolerance" policy on torture and is closely studying Novak's preliminary recommendations with a view to strengthening local institutional and legal frameworks.
