Differing from the EC in its ‘sunny’ reliance on government assurances

The European Commission’s proposal this week to the European Union (EU) regarding the restoration of GSP (General System of Preference) Plus to Sri Lanka’s export market did not carry with it, any element of particular surprise. This was a step long predicted.

Checking displays of untoward jubilation

representatives to answer questions of actual performance in regard to prosecuting and sentencing public officials for crimes of torture. This was in the context of official statistics on reported cases differing ‘very significantly’ with the data of other organizations including the main oversight body, the Human Rights Commission.

Indeed, the CAT Committee found systemic failures to uphold the Rule of Law at all stages of the legal process, from investigative to the judicial, asserting in fact that judges who fail in their judicial duties in this regard should be held accountable. Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court had oft made that same observation when hearing fundamental rights applications alleging torture. Other systemic problems abounded from the patterns of false arrests to failure to bring detained persons promptly brought before a judge and in any event, not exceeding 48 hours and complete failure to ensure that arresting officers must register the exact date, time, ground for the detention and place of arrest of detainees.

And while Tamil detainees were at far greater risk of torture given the ethnic dimension in these cases, Sinhala and Muslim victims were also vulnerable. Lest it be forgotten, these systemic failures of due process amounted to a fundamental disregard of the Rule of Law which the CAT Committee quite rightly stressed. It went so far as calling for an independent authority to investigate and prosecute torture cases. That level of concern which emanates from the Committee’s findings is certainly not adequately reflected in the EC’s assessment report examined here.

Gingerly handling of the proposed counter terror law