Committee against Torture

Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Sri Lanka**

1.The Committee against Torture considered the fifth periodic report of Sri Lanka (CAT/C/LKA/5) at its 1472nd and 1475th meetings (see CAT/C/SR.1472 and 1475), held on 15 and 16 November 2016, and adopted the present concluding observations at its 1494th meeting, held on 30 November 2016.

A.Introduction

2.The Committee welcomes the submission of the fifth periodic report of Sri Lanka and the written replies to the list of issues (CAT/C/LKA/Q/5/Add.1).

3.The Committee appreciates the dialogue held with the State party’s delegation during the consideration of the report and the written additional information provided afterwards.

B.Positive aspects

4.The Committee welcomes the declaration made on 16 August 2016 under article 22 of the Convention, recognizing the competence of the Committee to receive and consider individual communications. The Committee appreciates as well the State party’s ratification of the following instruments:

(a)The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, in May 2016;

(b)The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in February 2016.

5.The Committee also welcomes the following legislative and normative measures taken by the State party in areas of relevance to the Convention:

(a)The enactment, on 25 August 2016, of the amendment to the Registration of Deaths (Temporary Provisions) Act No. 19 of 2010, enabling the issuance of certificates of absence to those who claim that their family members are missing;

(b)The adoption, on 23 August 2016, of the Office of Missing Persons Act No. 14;

(c)The adoption, on 15 May 2015, of the nineteenth amendment to the Constitution, which reinstituted the Constitutional Council and led to the appointment of several independent constitutional commissions;

(d)The promulgation, on 7 March 2015, of the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act No. 4;

(e)The adoption, in 2013, of Crimes Circular No. 2/2013, providing for disciplinary action against officers who fail to properly register detained persons.

6.The Committee takes note of the State party’s initiatives to amend its policies and procedures to afford greater protection of human rights and to apply the Convention, in particular:

(a)The appointment, in January 2016, of a task force to conduct national consultations on transitional justice processes and mechanisms and the establishment, in November 2015, of the Secretariat for the Coordination of the Reconciliation Mechanisms;

(b)The establishment, in July 2016, of an inter-institutional committee to take preventive measures against torture;

(c)The instructions, issued in April 2016 by the commanders of the army, navy and air force, indicating that strict action will be taken against human rights violations;

(d)The directives, issued on 17 June 2016 by the President to the armed forces and the police, to ensure that the fundamental rights of persons arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act are respected and to assist the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka in the exercise of its duties;

(e)The adoption, in May 2011, of the National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (2011-2016), which identifies “prevention of torture” as one of the priority areas;

(f)The launch, on 16 November 2016, of the Policy Framework and National Action Plan to address sexual and gender-based violence (2016-2020).

7.The Committee expresses its appreciation for the standing invitation extended by the State party to the special procedures of the Human Rights Council in December 2015. It also notes with appreciation the visits to the State party during the period under review by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants; and the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; as well as by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

C.Principal subjects of concern and recommendations

Pending follow-up issues from the previous reporting cycle

8.While noting with appreciation the State party’s compliance with the follow-up procedure and the written information provided by the State party (CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4/Add.1), the Committee regrets that the recommendations identified for follow-up in the previous concluding observations (CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4) have not been implemented, namely accountability for past violations (paras. 15-16), investigation of torture allegations (paras. 19-20), fundamental legal safeguards (paras. 27-28) and forced confessions (paras. 31-32).

Allegations of routine torture during police detention

9.The Committee remains seriously concerned at consistent reports from national and United Nations sources, including the Special Rapporteur on torture, indicating that torture is a common practice carried out in relation to regular criminal investigations in a large majority of cases by the Criminal Investigation Department of the police, regardless of the nature of the suspected offence. The Committee is concerned that the broad police powers to arrest suspects without a court warrant has led to the practice of detaining persons while conducting the investigations as a means to obtain information under duress. The Committee notes allegations that police investigators often fail to register detainees during the initial hours of deprivation of liberty or to bring them before a magistrate within the time limit prescribed by law, during which time torture is particularly likely to occur. It also notes with concern that neither the Attorney General nor the judiciary exert sufficient supervision over the legality of the detention or the conduct of police investigations to prevent this practice. In this regard, the Committee shares the concern of the Special Rapporteur on torture that magistrates often do not inquire into potential ill-treatment during pretrial hearings and agree to the requests of police officers to keep suspects in remand custody without further scrutiny (arts. 2, 12 and 16).

10. The Committee calls on the State party to:

(a) Make the necessary legislative amendments requiring the police to obtain an arrest warrant issued by a judicial authority to conduct an arrest, except in cases of flagrante delicto;

(b) Ensure that detained persons are promptly brought before a judge within the time limit established by law, which should not go beyond 48 hours;

(c) Ensure that arresting officers register the exact date, time, ground for the detention and place of arrest of all detained persons. The State party should ensure that compliance with the detention registration system is closely monitored and penalize any officers who fail to adhere to it or to ensure that their subordinates do so;

(d) Establish effective prosecutorial oversight over police actions during investigation and improve criminal investigation methods in order to end statements obtained during police interrogation being relied on as the central element of proof in criminal prosecutions;

(e) Remind judges of their duty, whenever they have a reason to believe that a person appearing before them may have been subjected to torture or duress, to actively ask the detainees about their treatment during detention and to request a forensic examination. The competent authorities should hold responsible those persons whose duty it is to apply the law, including judges who fail to respond appropriately to allegations of torture raised during judicial proceedings;

(f) Install video surveillance in all places of custody where detainees may be present, except in cases where detainees’ right to privacy or to confidential communication with their lawyer or doctor may be violated. Such recordings should be kept in secure facilities and be made available to investigators, detainees and lawyers;

(g) Encourage the application of non-custodial measures as an alternative to pretrial detention.

Alleged “white van” abductions and torture in unacknowledged detention facilities

11.The Committee expresses concern at credible reports indicating that the practice of so-called “white van” abductions of Tamils has continued in the years following the end of the armed conflict. The Committee notes allegations of this practice documented by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Investigation on Sri Lanka during the period 2002-2011 as well as by non-governmental organizations, which have identified 48 sites where torture allegedly occurred or which were used as transit points to torture locations between 2009 and 2015. The Committee notes the information received that numerous individuals suspected of having a link, however remote, with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been abducted and then subjected to brutal torture, often including sexual violence and rape of men and women. According to the information received, such practices are carried out by both military and police in unacknowledged places of detention, which have included law enforcement headquarters, army and internally displaced person camps and “rehabilitation centres”. While noting the State party’s position that no secret torture camps or detention centres exist at present, the Committee regrets the failure of the State party to clarify whether it investigated these recent allegations of torture (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16).

12. The Committee urges the State party to ensure that all allegations of unlawful detention, torture and sexual violence by security forces are promptly, impartially and effectively investigated by an independent body. The Committee urges the State party to publish a full list of all gazetted detention centres, close down any unofficial ones still in existence and ensure that no one is detained in unofficial detention facilities, as this practice is per se a breach of the Convention.

Institutional reform of the security sector

13.Bearing in mind the findings of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka that the Sri Lankan security forces committed widespread or systematic torture, enforced disappearances and other serious human rights violations during and in the aftermath of the internal conflict, the Committee is seriously concerned at the failure of the State party to carry out an institutional reform of the security sector. In this regard, the Committee was alarmed by the presence of the Chief of National Intelligence, Sisira Mendis, as part of the Sri Lankan delegation, as he was the Deputy Inspector General of the Criminal Investigations Department from March 2008 to June 2009. The Committee observed that Mr. Mendis is named in the report of the Investigation, which noted that the Department’s “4th floor” facility at police headquarters in Colombo was known as a notorious site of torture. The report also contains allegations of widespread torture, including sexual violence, perpetrated against individuals detained at Manik Farm Camp and elsewhere in the aftermath of the conflict by personnel of the Department and the Terrorism Investigation Division, over which Mr. Mendis also allegedly exercised supervisory authority until June 2009. In this connection, the Committee deeply regrets that neither Mr. Mendis nor any other member of the delegation provided information in response to the many specific questions raised by the Committee on this subject during the dialogue with the State party and in its written additional information provided to the Committee.

14. The State party should:

(a) Immediately embark upon an institutional reform of the security sector and develop a vetting process to remove from offic