October 4^th 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The second reading of the ‘Office for Reparations Bill’ (the Bill) is listed to be taken up in Parliament on Wednesday, 10^th October 2018. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) raises serious concerns with the present form of the Bill and notes, yet again, that the Bill will adversely impact the proposed Office for Reparations (the Office) and ultimately reparations themselves if enacted in its present form.

Despite CPA and others in civil society previously raising and attempting to engage with key actors in government on alternative proposals to strengthen the Bill, the government has failed to factor in key considerations that could have ensured a victim-centred and independent Office. CPA reiterates its concerns with two clauses in particular. Clause 11(1)(g) provides that policies and guidelines formulated by the Office will only be adopted upon approval by the Cabinet of Ministers. Clause 22(4) further provides that any such policies and guidelines authorising the disbursement of funds require Parliament’s approval. These clauses create a total dependency on Cabinet vis-à-vis policy formulation and an unnecessary layer of Parliamentary approval to disburse funds for an Office intended to be independent, nonpartisan and autonomous.

This dependency on the executive and legislature generated by the current Bill will likely lead to a situation of political bargaining, trade-offs and politicisation that will eventually undermine the integrity of reparations and lose the confidence of victims and affected communities. Media reports highlight the politicisation and ethnicisation related to compensation schemes. It is in this deeply problematic context that the Bill envisages further and heavier reliance on politicians.

CPA has repeatedly emphasised the critical importance of reparations in the transformation of societies that have experienced violence, loss and discrimination. Coupled with other reforms, reparations are critical to empower victims, give them dignity and build trust. A weak Office is unlikely to achieve this. Concerns with the Bill’s substance and process and a lack of genuine interest by key government entities to engage begs the question of whether this is merely a box ticking exercise than a genuine attempt at addressing a crucial aspect of reconciliation.

The government will use the present Bill and the establishment of the second transitional justice mechanism it committed to in UN Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 as evidence of positive progress. The first mechanism, the Office for Missing Persons (OMP), was legislated for in August 2016 and operationalised after numerous delays in March 2018. While some will accept these moves as progress, the frequent delays, inactions and obstructions in actually fulfilling the promises it made in 2015 are sadly indicative of a government that is clearly fudging in delivering on transitional justice. It is not too late to correct course and display genuine political leadership to address Sri Lanka’s past. This can start immediately with the establishment of an Office for Reparations that is victim-centred and independent.

Download this statement here.

September 18th, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) notes the improved version of the Counter Terrorism Bill to repeal and replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) which has reportedly obtained Cabinet approval last week. While the process of preparing the Bill could have been much more transparent and inclusive, the final outcome, if enacted in the present form, would be a significant and welcome improvement on the current framework of antiterrorism powers as established by the PTA and a previous leaked draft of the Counter Terrorism Framework.

The new framework proposed by the Bill would represent a much better balance between the liberty of the individual and the powers of the state by establishing several meaningful checks and balances for the exceptional powers given to the state to combat terrorism. While CPA notes improvements can be made to the Bill to make it more consistent with national and international human rights standards, we note in particular that many of the more egregious aspects of the PTA have been removed, or at least ameliorated. These include the removal of the admissibility of confessions (which has served as an invitation to endemic torture and arbitrary convictions under the PTA) and the overbroad provisions having a chilling effect on the freedom of expression. Improvements include the access by suspects to legal counsel, magistrates, and the wider role for the Human Rights Commission, and that powers of arrest and detention are checked by stronger judicial safeguards and lesser periods of permissible detention without charge.

Despite this, CPA is concerned with media reports indicating that some members of the government have expressed reservations about the more liberal provisions of the Bill, and there is a threat that retrograde features might be reintroduced into the Bill by way of committee-stage amendments. CPA has consistently raised concerns with such practices of committee-stage amendments which are beyond the scrutiny of the judiciary and citizens of Sri Lanka. We urge the government to reject these calls, and to ensure that the integrity of the Bill is not distorted or destroyed through unprincipled amendments serving the ends of authoritarianism and future human rights violations.

CPA also urges the government to publish the Bill at the earliest opportunity to enable fuller public scrutiny and debate of its contents prior to the parliamentary stage.

Download this statement in English, Sinhala and Tamil.