UNHRC Chief Says Government Policies Have Targeted Muslims

9. UNHRC Chief Says Government Policies Have Targeted Muslims

10. Sri Lankan President Pardons 94, Including Convicted Murderer

11. China’s Oppression Of Muslims Could Be Influencing Srilanka

12. PTA Detainee Hejaaz Hizbullah Has Been Declared A Prisoner Of Conscience

13. Threat Of Intergovernmental Militarization Looms

14. Right To Protest Under Threat As 42 Arrested

15. Rapporteur Says That De-radicalization Regulations Could Lead To Silence Of Those Who Criticize Government

16. Covid Burial Site Already Reaching Capacity As Additional Space Confirmed

17. Opposition Party Accuses President Of Becoming Authoritarian

18. UN Special Rapporteur Says PTA Detainee Hejaaz Hizbullah Has Been Wrongfully Connected To Easter 2019

19. Prison Conditions Poor, Overcrowded; Detainees Tell Stories Of Sexual Assault And Torture

20. President Rajapaksa meets with UN Secretary General Antony Guterres

21. BBS Monk Thero Makes Hateful Comments About Muslims On Television

22. India, China, And Sri Lanka Are Connected In Targeted Oppression

23. Justice Minister Sabry Says PTA Is Unlikely To Ever Be Abolished

United Nations Human Rights Chief Michele Bachelet spoke at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) 47th session in Geneva on June 21. In her opening statement, she expressed concern at some of the people who had been placed to work at Sri Lanka’s Office of Missing Persons and Office for Reparations. Two individuals are wartime police head Jayantha Wickramaratne and Major General Palithe Fernando. Investigations into past crimes have been discouraged through the office, which deteriorates trust.

Bachelet said that she saw a continuation of government policies which were perceived to target Muslims and harass Tamils. There were over 300 groups and individuals that were added to a list of supporters of terrorism in Sri Lanka. These were under the new regulations of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Another new regulation allows the detainment of a person for up to two years without trial to be “deradicalized.” These policies are toxic to reconciliation, she said.

Bachelet also mentioned the alarming number of deaths under police custody; in particular they were in context to police encountering alleged gangs. She has called for an independent investigation and will continue to communicate with Sri Lanka’s government, updating the UNHRC in September.

On June 9 of this year, the European Parliament voted heavily in favor, with 628-15-40 of adopting a resolution for the Sri Lankan government to repeal the PTA. It called for the temporary suspension of the country’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences plus status (GSP +) if the PTA wasn’t removed.

In March, countries had followed Bachelet’s concerns and voiced their own, pushing for the UNHCR’s resolution “to collect, consolidate, analyse and preserve information and evidence, and to develop possible strategies for future accountability processes for gross violations of human rights or serious violations of international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka, to advocate for victims and survivors, and to support relevant judicial and other proceedings”. They were North Macedonia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Malawi, Montenegro, and Canada.

The UN Core Group said on June 22 that they were disappointed with Sri Lanka’s progress with the resolution (46/1). In particular, it was concerned with both the PTA and rehabilitation regulations which they said lacked proper judicial oversight. They mentioned by name Hejaaz Hizbullah and Ahnaaf Jazeem’s continued detentions and the use of the PTA for both political and minority oppression.

Sri Lankan Justice Minister Ali Sabry said on June 23 that the government will be reforming the PTA for what they say will be for the benefit of national security and human rights. He said if there is not a court case, people should be freed from jail.

Sabry said the reforms are not related to the threats from the European Parliament to pull GSP +.

Also in Sri Lanka, the military is investigating reports of soldiers publicly humiliating Muslims. There social media posts that showed soldiers forcing Muslims to kneel in the middle of the road while holding their hands in the air as a form of punishment for disregarding lockdown regulations.

The military responded by saying they would take strict disciplinary action. The officer invovled has allegedly been removed and the soldiers who humiliated them have been told to leave the area according to Al Jazeera.

Minister of Youth and Sports, Namal Rajapaksa also admitted on June 22 that there were many, mostly youth in remand prison, and that they have been there without trial for years.