Centre for Policy Alternatives on 23 January, 2018

Two Fundamental Rights Petitions Challenging Excise Notification No 4/2018

Violation of Rights Guaranteed under the Constitution of Sri Lanka

23rd January 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka: Two Fundamental Rights Petitions were filed challenging the validity of Excise Notification No 4/2018 of the Gazette Extraordinary No. 2054-42 issued by the Minister in charge of the Ministry of Finance and Media on 18th January 2018. The effect of Excise Notification No 4/2018 is to reintroduce:

  • The prohibition on women above the age of 18 to manufacture, collect, bottle, sell or transport liquor.
  • The prohibition on women above the age of 18 from being employed for manufacturing, collecting, bottling, sale or transport of liquor.
  • The prohibition on “giving” liquor to “a woman within the premises of a tavern”.

The two Petitions were filed on the basis of the violation of specific rights guaranteed under the Fundamental Rights Chapter in the Constitution of Sri Lanka. The position of both Petitions is that regardless of whether a woman actually engages in these activities, her constitutional right to make that choice for herself should be respected to the same extent as that of a man.

The first Petition was filed by five women on their own behalf and in the public interest. They are Bhavani Fonseka, Sumika Perera, Anusha Coomaraswamy, Shreen Saroor and Minoli de Zoysa. The five petitioners assert that Excise Notification No 4/2018 is a violation of their rights guaranteed under Article 10 [freedom of thought], Article 12(1) [equal protection of the law], Article 12(2) [non discrimination] and Article 14(1)(g) [freedom to engage in a lawful occupation, profession].

The second petition was filed in the public interest by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and its Executive Director, Dr P. Saravanamuttu. The petition alleges that the prohibition violates the rights guaranteed under Article 10, 12(1) and 12(2) of women above the age of 18 who constitute a significant segment of the People of Sri Lanka.

International and Domestic Commitments

In addition to the violation of certain rights guaranteed under the Constitution, the prohibition is contrary to a range of commitments made by the Government of Sri Lanka including at a minimum the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW fundamentally makes all forms of discrimination against women a breach of international law. Two key recommendations made in the CEDAW Committee’s 2017 report to Sri Lanka were to ensure the de facto prohibition of discrimination against women, and to review all legislation for conformity with CEDAW. It was also recommended that the state

accord statutory recognition to the right to equality and non-discrimination, and ensure that all CEDAW provisions are enforceable.[1]

The National Human Rights Action Plan 2017-21 (NHRAP), which provides a detailed plan for human rights protection in Sri Lanka, includes gender equality as a key theme. The NHRAP affirms that “the government is currently working towards achieving gender equality through the enactment of gender sensitive laws, formulation of policy and through action plans.”

Furthermore, in May 2017, Sri Lanka regained inclusion into the European Union’s (EU) Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+). The scheme vastly reduces duties on exports to the EU on the condition of improving compliance with 27 international conventions, including CEDAW.

Finally, Sri Lanka also adopted the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015.[2] In particular, Goal 5 seeks to “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”. This includes commitments to end all forms of discrimination (5.1) and ensure that policies and enforceable legislation promote gender equality and empowerment (5.c). The GOSL has highlighted its commitment to the goals in a range of domestic processes, including the NHRAP and government policy, and will be subject to international follow-up and review of the SDG commitments in coming years.

[1] CEDAW Country Report 2017 para 12.

[2] United Nations Resolution A/RES/70/1

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Download this statement in English Sinhala and Tamil.

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 11 January, 2018

CPA Statement in Response to Supreme Court Reference 01/2018

11 January 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) made representations today on behalf of itself and its Executive Director, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, intervening in the reference made by President Maithripala Sirisena to the Supreme Court regarding his term of office as President.

On 8 January 2018, media reports indicated that President Sirisena had sought an opinion from the Supreme Court under Article 129(1) of the Constitution asking:

“Whether, in terms of Provisions of the Constitution, I, as the person elected and succeeding to the office of President and having assumed such office in terms of Article 32(1) of the Constitution on January 9 2015, have any impediment to continue in the office of President for a period of six years from January 9 2015, the date on which the result of my election to the office of President was declared”

The case was listed for 11 January 2018, and the Supreme Court’s opinion is to be communicated to the President on 14 January 2018.

CPA’s position on the 19th Amendment to the Constitution is very clear. The Amendment makes express provision that the President’s term is limited to five years:

Article 30(2) of the Constitution: The President of the Republic shall be elected by the  People, and shall hold office for a term of five years.

Further, the Amendment’s transitional provisions explicitly state that this five-year term limit applies equally to the sitting President:

Section 49(1)(b) of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution: For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that … the persons holding  office  respectively,  as  the President  and  Prime  Minister  on  the  day  preceding April 22, 2015 shall continue to hold such office after  such  date,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the Constitution as amended by this Act. (emphasis added).

Furthermore the 19th Amendment to the Constitution clearly states which parts of the amendment do not apply to President Sirisena as the incumbent President and the reduction of the term of office is not such a provision (Section 51 of the 19th Amendment). Accordingly, President Sirisena’s term must be understood as being for five years from 9 January 2015 (i.e. until 9 January 2020) and not for six years (i.e. until 9 January 2021).

CPA notes that in the lead up to the enactment of the 19th Amendment in 2015, President Sirisena himself noted that the reduced Presidential term of five years will apply to himself. CPA hopes the President is mindful of his earlier assertions. CPA also urges constitutional and political actors to act in a manner that upholds the spirit of the 19th Amendment.

CPA appreciates that the Chief Justice and the other judges of the Supreme Court facilitated and permitted interventions from members of the public to make representations in this instance. CPA notes that there have been previous occasions wherein only the Attorney General was heard during similar proceedings. CPA has consistently stated that the process in Article 129 (1) of the Constitution relating to a reference could lead to a lack of transparency. As such CPA respectfully calls on the Supreme Court to ensure that the ensuing Advisory Opinion is made public.

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Download a PDF of this statement in English, Tamil and Sinhala.

View the Written Submissions of Intervenient-Petitioners here.

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 3 January, 2018

Participation of Maldivian journalists, bloggers, or social media activists at the Global Voices Summit held in Colombo, December 2017

Groundviews was the local partner for the Global Voices Summit 2017, that saw journalists, bloggers, media experts, researchers and artists from over 60 countries meet in Colombo to discuss global and regional media issues as well as brainstorm for future collaborations and endeavours.

With the support of the Canadian High Commission in Colombo, Groundviews and CPA were able to host five activists and journalists from the Maldives to participate in the Global Voices Summit. They represented several civil society and media organisations, and were able to share first-hand realities of the closing space for democracy in the Maldives, as it nears an election in 2018.

Outcomes

Increased awareness amongst the Global Voices community of the issues facing journalists and the media in the Maldives, through networking and sharing sessions during the Summit.

Networks established in Sri Lanka with media and civil society for these journalists/activists to access when restricted within their home country. 

Activities of the Global Voices Summit

The Summit featured several panels, roundtables, discussions and workshops on wide-ranging topics with regard to digital journalism and activism. There were small group discussions that focused on regional topics, opening up the floor to more speakers, and there were also panels that featured executives from globally renowned digital initiatives.

Knowledge-sharing and networking were the main takeaways from the Summit, as the 300+ crowd in attendance comprised of activists, educators, media experts, researchers and artists from over 60 countries. 

Engagement and contribution of Maldivian participants

The five participants were engaged in sessions throughout both days of the Summit. They contributed as speakers and to the discussion of two sessions in particular, seeing as how the topics discussed were pertinent to the prevalent media landscape in the Maldives. The titles of these were The Rise of Online Religious Nationalism in South Asia and Threatened Journalists in South Asia & Their Rights.

Next steps

Through the networking sessions with global media voices at the Summit and the meeting with diplomatic representatives at Canada House, the participants have established links with allies who will be able to take their activism and messages forward. Groundviews has arranged to publish content, in a manner that protects anonymity of the Maldivian sources, when necessary and should the need arise.

The engagement with the diplomatic community in Sri Lanka, at Canada House, helped in a greater understanding of ground realities in the Maldives. In light of subsequent measures by the Maldivian government to clamp down on meeting with senior diplomats, condemned by the US and UK Ambassadors, it was vital that this face to face connection was established. Future situation reports and updates from the ground from the five participants in particular, and the larger Maldivian activist networks in general, will have to be over electronic means – and the discussion around growing network surveillance was also topical and timely in this regard.

The Maldives had one of the biggest delegations at the Global Voices Summit. The Canadian High Commission funding allowed five leading voices to shape the conversations, and also allowed a leading figure like Ethen Zuckerman to participate at the meeting with the Maldivians at Canada House, raising the profile of their situation amongst a group of global journalists.

Additionally, the five participants also met with the Foreign Correspondents Association of Sri Lanka, in what was a well-attended meeting of all the major wire news services covering the South Asian region.

The impact of this exposure cannot be under estimated.

 

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 11 December, 2017

PRESS RELEASE: Despite growing challenges to democracy, data reveals that globally democracy is not in decline, according to new International IDEA publication.

11th December 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka –The world has experienced continued and steep democratic progress, however this progress has slowed down over the past decade.  Challenges and threats have emerged in specific countries and regions, according to the first edition of The Global State of Democracy publication from The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). Now, democracy is at a crossroads and continuous actions must be taken to safeguard and protect it.

International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy publication, based on the new Global State of Democracy indices, highlights that almost all aspects of democracy have advanced over the past four decades. Most electoral democracies established in this period survived, and the number and proportion of countries holding elections have increased. Governments are now more representative of (and responsive to) their constituencies, more countries respect the fundamental rights of their citizens, and social rights and equality feature sharp improvements. More importantly, governments are more constrained by checks from parliaments, the judiciary and the media. In addition, according to International IDEA’s analysis, the value people give to democracy is strengthened when democratic backsliding occurs. The most difficult aspects for democracies to tackle are corruption and rule of law, which have not improved since 1975.

The first edition of The Global State of Democracy publication analyses and assesses emerging challenges and threats. It is based on a new set of indices that collect data on key attributes of democracy across 155 countries from 1975 to 2015. The starting point of 1975 coincides with the ratification of the United Nations Conventions on Civil and Political Rights as well as Economic and Social Rights and the so-called ‘Third Wave of Democracy’. Zooming-in on some of the most pressing crises for democracy today, the publication provides insights into the future of political parties and representation, corruption and money in politics, inequality, migration, and post-conflict peacebuilding. The publication provides actionable recommendations for citizens, politicians and technocrats worldwide in their efforts to combat these threats.

“We see the challenges to our democracy in our daily news. There are cases of national leaders attempting to retain power beyond constitutional limits, attacks on human rights, and the rollback of civil liberties and freedom of the press”, said Yves Leterme, International IDEA Secretary-General.  “International IDEA is concerned about the rise of challenges to democracy. Our role—every citizen’s role—is to protect democracy.”

A regional launch of The Global State of Democracy: Exploring Democracy’s Resilience will be held at the Asia-Pacific Conference on Resilience of Democracy: “21st Century Solutions for 21st Century Challenges to Democracy”, organised at   Mövenpick Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka on 13-14 December 2017. The conference brings together policymakers, experts, academics, civil society groups and young professionals from across the Asia-Pacific region to discuss innovative, actionable solutions to the challenges of democracy as identified in the Global State of Democracy publication.

The conference will focus on three themes: 1) democracy’s resilience to backsliding, 2) influence of money in politics, corruption, and 3) inclusive peacebuilding in conflict-affected states. A special panel session composed of high-level officials and experts highlights the second day of the conference bringing state of democracy in Sri Lanka on focus as well.

The regional launch is organized by International IDEA, the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA),and Democracy Reporting International (DRI)

The publication is available in English, both in print and online. An overview of the publication will be available in English, Spanish, French and Arabic. Explore the publication’s website and the indices to learn more about the quality of democracy, comparing countries and regions.

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The Global State of Democracy publication
The Global State of Democracy is a biennial publication analysing and assessing the state of democracy around the world based on data from the Global State of Democracyindices. The publication includes an overview of global and regional democracy trends and developments, current challenges and crises, as well as evidence-based and actionable recommendations for policy makers and democracy practitioners worldwide.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. International IDEA’s mission is to support sustainable democratic change by providing comparative knowledge, and assisting in democratic reform, and influencing policies and politics. International IDEA produces comparative knowledge in its key areas of expertise: electoral processes, constitution-building, and political participation and representation, as well as democracy as it relates to gender, diversity, and conflict and security. For more information, visit www.idea.int
Media Contact: Raul Cordenillo, [email protected], Tel: +46 8 698 37 75

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) 
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) was formed in the firm belief that there is an urgent need to strengthen institution and capacity-building for good governance and conflict transformation in Sri Lanka and that non-partisan civil society groups have an important and constructive contribution to make to this process. The primary role envisaged for the Centre in the field of public policy is a pro-active and interventionary one, aimed at the dissemination and advocacy of policy alternatives for non-violent conflict resolution and democratic governance. Accordingly, the work of the Centre involves a major research component through which the policy alternatives advocated are identified and developed.
Media Contact: Amalini De Sayrah, [email protected], Tel: +94 775090087

Programme Contact: Nathalie Ebead, [email protected]

            

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 23 November, 2017

Selective Memory: Erasure & memorialisation in Sri Lanka’s North

23rd November, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The insurrections of the 1970s, the riots of 1983 and the 30-year conflict – all which have immeasurably shaped the country’s history and have far more reaching consequence for its future – are glaringly absent from the history syllabus of the Sri Lankan education system. Textbooks are one way of teaching history and memorialisation. So too are the physical expressions of history and of memory, in the monuments we have built to tell the stories of our past. As with the lessons that we teach the younger generations, the Sri Lankan State’s practice is selective here too.

From schoolbooks to statute and statues, this erasure of the country’s violent recent history is reflective of deliberate State amnesia on the part of successive governments and a convenient approach to dealing with the past – without confronting its horrors – by way of denial. The atrocities witnessed, especially by those living in the combat zones of the Northern Province, and the drastic losses faced by the communities have been reduced to monuments that tell only one, partial story – that of the glorious victories of the armed forces.

The monuments do not account for the multiple narratives and truths around experiences of the conflict. The State-sponsored memorials were not built with any consultation from the communities that live in the immediate vicinity. Communities whose histories are linked to these places and what they were before the conflict, and whose everyday realities are linked to these places and what they are after the conflict.

For people from the South in general, it may be difficult to understand why these memorials are so out of place and violent. For the people living around them, the monuments are a living reminder of the painful recent past which prevent them from ‘moving on’ in any sense.

The impact of these memorials is inextricably linked to the patterns of militarization and land occupation that remain in the Northern Province, eight years after the conflict came to an end. Taking into consideration the ground realities that persist for residents of these areas, issues that have gone unaddressed by several governments, sustained marginalization of this nature, if left unaddressed, has the potential to fuel renewed cycles of conflict.

Access this story made on Microsoft Sway here or view the embed below.

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 13 November, 2017

On the blocking of Lanka E News website in Sri Lanka

13th November 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) notes with concern the inaccessibility of online news website Lanka E News from within Sri Lanka since 8th November 2017. AFP reports that the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) had ordered internet service providers “to block Lanka E News”. Mainstream media in Sri Lanka reported that President’s Counsel Hemantha Warnakulasuriya, in his capacity as a member of the TRCSL, had strongly defended the decision to block the website, calling the operation of the website, in his opinion, “illegal”. Network measurements conducted by CPA on the independent online censorship monitoring service run by the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) confirm that Lanka E News is blocked in the country.

Whether by executive order or based on a unilateral decision by the TRCSL, CPA notes that the blocking of Lanka E News has not followed due process and is completely extra-judicial in nature. Revealingly, the move comes soon after a public pronouncement by Government Spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne requesting the President to arrest those who post abusive language or content criticising him on social media and websites. Mr. Senaratne went on to note that one could criticise the President, but not personally abuse him.

The recent action and statements by government officials and Ministers constitute a direct and real threat to the open questioning of political leadership and official policies, the very foundation of yahapalanaya. The renewed extra-judicial blocking of websites sadly mirrors the awful tactics adopted by the Rajapaksa regime to quell dissent and suppress inconvenient truths. Domestic and international media watchdogs at the time regularly flagged online censorship as a means through which the Rajapaksa regime controlled the flow of news and information, in addition to other more violent means.

CPA stresses that due process and the Rule of Law need to be followed when dealing with any inaccurate, false or defamatory content. The arbitrary, extra-judicial blocking of websites runs counter to the mandate given to the government in January 2015 to strengthen and secure dissent, debate and dialogue. We also note that online censorship often leads to the Streisand Effect, where what is sought to be hidden or made inaccessible becomes that much more credible and visible, a result that is precisely the opposite of what is intended.

Furthermore, CPA strongly cautions the government that online surveillance and censorship contribute to a chilling effect on democratic dialogue. This in turn places vital processes like an online referendum, proposed by the Prime Minister recently, on the Interim Report of the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly, at great risk of failure and rejection.

We call upon the government and TRCSL to instruct all ISPs to immediately suspend the blocking of Lanka E News. ISPs in Sri Lanka are urged to use the full weight of the law to combat arbitrary orders from the State that violate rights of customers to freely access information online. We also call upon the government to conduct effective and sustained media and information literacy programmes as an effective counter against the spread of disinformation and fake news.

Education and awareness, not censorship, are the keys to a healthy democracy.

Download this release in English and Tamil.