{"id":228454,"date":"2022-07-31T04:41:55","date_gmt":"2022-07-30T23:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=228454"},"modified":"2022-08-03T17:49:31","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T12:19:31","slug":"the-aragalaya-human-rights-in-geneva-this-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-aragalaya-human-rights-in-geneva-this-september\/","title":{"rendered":"The Aragalaya & Human Rights In Geneva This September"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sanja de Silva Jayatilleka<\/a> –<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sanja de Silva Jayatilleka<\/p><\/div>\n

The arrest of an Aragalaya<\/a><\/span> activist who was already on board a Sri Lankan Airlines flight having got through all the airport security checks, was widely shared on social media as outraged passengers shared their phone footage from every angle. The passengers themselves are seen demanding due process in the arrest, including the presentation of a warrant by the police, which they didn\u2019t possess at the time.<\/p>\n

The activist himself, holding on for dear life to the back of his seat as the authorities in civilian attire tried to wrench him off, claimed he was on his way to inform the international community about the repression visited on the Aragalaya by the government. He was successfully dragged off the plane and is in remand at the present time.<\/p>\n

It made for an unforgettable piece of theatre among the many such theatrical moments in the Aragalaya, with the Government showing it has quite a talent for playing the part of the villain of the piece most ably. I\u2019d say that Geneva could be interested in a showing at the UN Human Rights Council.<\/p>\n

The 51st regular session of the UN Human Rights Council will be held from 12 September to 7th October 2022 in Geneva. Sri Lanka will be taken up on the very first day under item 2 of the agenda, soon after the oral update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at 9 a.m. Geneva time, and following an interactive dialog of the Council on Myanmar scheduled for 12 noon.<\/p>\n

At the Interactive Dialog on Sri Lanka, member states of the UN will respond to the report of the High Commissioner on her investigation mandated by HRC Resolution 46\/1 on accountability. At this session, we may hear something of the progress made by the new mechanism set up specifically for Sri Lanka at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), called the Sri Lanka Accountability Project (SLAP).<\/p>\n

Coming so high up on the agenda of the Council, Sri Lanka has quite a lot to deal with already, on the accountability front. However, it may well see itself having to respond to questions on a few other Human Rights which have not received much attention in Sri Lanka until now. Looming large at the present time, it is clear that Freedom of Assembly will be given a fair bit of attention of the Council, this September.<\/p>\n

The Right to Peaceful Assembly<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Human Rights Council has many procedures and mechanisms at its disposal to achieve its goal of mainstreaming the promotion and protection of human rights. \u201cSpecial Procedures\u201d with thematic mandates are such mechanisms. These experts report annually to the Human Rights Council, and the majority of the mandates also report to the General Assembly. One such, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly, has already issued a warning to Sri Lanka at the last session of the Council in June 2022.<\/p>\n

Cl\u00e9ment Nyaletsossi Voule, the current holder of the mandate, reported to the UNHRC at the 50th session of the Council held last month, that Sri Lanka had some way to go with regard to Freedom of Assembly. Since then, the Sri Lankan state has swayed so wildly in the opposite direction to that advocated, with shocking disregard to its civil rights obligations, that it is very unlikely that the situation around the Aragalaya will not be taken up at the September Sessions.<\/p>\n

The 22nd<\/sup> July surprise attack in the dead of night on protesters preparing to leave the protest area near the Galle Face by hundreds of armed military personnel, plainly disproportionate, surrounding the few night time stragglers from all sides, will no doubt take centre-stage in any discussion on this theme. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the accusation, denied by the authorities, of embedding contractors (mercenaries) among them, may come up during the interactive dialog. In April 2022, the relevant Working Group of the Council called for inputs on \u201cvictims of mercenaries, mercenary related actors, and private military and security companies.\u201d. This is matter that the OHCHR is seized of, currently.<\/p>\n

Voule\u2019s report presented in June 2022 (A\/HRC\/50\/23\/Add.3) had already warned that \u201cSri Lankan police frequently appear to respond to protests that are disfavored for political reasons by arresting their participants, in violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.\u201d He recommended the development of clear guidance \u201cto facilitate the organization of assemblies according to law, both by organizers and law enforcement authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n

He further warned Sri Lanka to refrain from \u201cusing national security legislation, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act, to criminalize protesters legitimately exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly\u201d, citing instances where excessive force was used to disperse assemblies which violated international human rights law. It seemed like on the night of the 22nd<\/sup> July, the Sri Lankan Government would rather be damned than be dictated to by a Special Rapporteur.<\/p>\n

The Special Rapporteur had already taken note of the Emergency regulations imposed in March 2022, saying that he is \u201cis seriously concerned with the steps taken from the end of March 2022 on, in response to large-scale protests, including the declaration of a state of emergency and the publication of emergency regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of his observations at the time are still relevant to the situation today:<\/p>\n