Ex-HRCSL Chief says Acting IGP appointment violates fundamental rights of citizens

• Prof. Deepika Udagama says arbitrary appointment of Tennakoon contravenes the international fundamental rights laws 
• Stresses it will cast a dark shadow on SL’s human rights record
• Claims it will impact SL’s ability to attract essential investors 

HRCSL Chairperson Prof. Deepika Udagama

SDIG Deshabandu Tennakoon

Former Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Chairperson Prof. Deepika Udagama on Sunday said the appointment of Deshabandu Tennakoon as the Acting Inspector General of Police has violated the fundamental rights of the country’s citizens. 

Addressing a press conference called by the Lawyer’s Collective, Udagama said the appointment of Tennakoon, who is facing serious charges and legal cases, by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the subsequent endorsement of this appointment by the Constitutional Council, constitutes a grave infringement upon the fundamental rights of the general public. 

The former HRCSL Head noted, that the Constitutional Council was set up in response to the people’s demand through the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, aiming to safeguard the public and to prevent the intervention of the Executive in appointments to crucial positions like the Inspector General of Police. She underscored that this arbitrary appointment of the Inspector General of Police not only violates the Constitution, the supreme law of Sri Lanka, but also contravenes the international fundamental rights laws that Sri Lanka has willingly accepted. “This appointment will cast a dark shadow on Sri Lanka’s human rights record in the international community, potentially impacting the country’s ability to attract essential investors amid a severe economic crisis,” she said.