Small but significant steps

In a massive step for human rights Police and Armed Forces have been given new directions by President Maithripala Sirisena on the arrest and detention of persons over terrorism-related offences. Under the new guidelines released last week those taken into custody will not only be free of torture and humiliation but also be told the reasons for their arrest and have their detention properly catalogued.  

The move on Friday came in the wake of the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva. An oral brief on Sri Lanka is to be given by Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on 27 June. The Government was earlier warned about continuing arbitrary arrests and torture even after January 2015 during the visit of the High Commissioner last year. 

President Sirisena has said the person making the arrest or detention shall identify himself by name and rank to those arrested or to any relative or friend. Every person arrested or detained, he has said, shall be informed of the reason. Searches of women and girls should only be made by other women “with strict regard to their dignity and bodily integrity,” the directive says.

In a preamble to the signed five-page directive, President Sirisena has noted that as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defence, he is of “the opinion that it is necessary to issue the directions to the Heads of Armed Forces and the Police.” This, he points out, is to enable the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) “to exercise and perform its powers, functions and duties and for the purpose of ensuring the fundamental rights of persons...”

The directive will apply to those arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and when arrests are made when a State of Emergency is in force. A similar guideline was issued when Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was in office as well. 

President Sirisena has said the Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order (in the case of the Police) and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence (in the case of the Armed Forces) should formulate a “uniform document” which will contain the name and rank of the person making the arrest and the reasons for it. It will also have to record the place of arrest.

A slew of other rights have also been given to detainees including access to medical help and lawyers as well as detention that does not infringe on the fundamental rights of the detainee. The immensely progressive steps hold great promise for the document the Government hopes to introduce to replace the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The latest directives, in addition to protecting minority communities, also set the stage for the police and army to tackle longstanding concerns of torture and custody deaths. 

Disrespecting human rights has eroded public respect for the police and army for many years. These crucial institutions should look at this directive as an opportunity to clean up their record and fulfil their duties as custodians of protecting all Sri Lankans irrespective of their ethnic distinctions and support the fundamental processes that are needed to ensure justice.