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Sri Lanka’s targeting of former Human Rights Commissioner ‘amounts to harassment and intimidation’ say human rights groups

Eight human rights organisations expressed their deep concern over a recent statement by Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry which smeared former Human Rights Commissioner, Ambika Satkunanathan, which they called an "act of harassment and intimidation.”

Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry rebuked Satkunanathan’s submission to the European Parliament, claiming it was “reminiscent of LTTE propaganda.”  

“Targeting her for providing accurate testimony about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka to the European Parliament is completely unacceptable, and sends a chilling message to all Sri Lankan civil society, especially those in the north and east, who are already operating under considerable duress under the current administration,” the organisations said in a statement released today. 

The organisations slammed the Foreign Ministry’s statement which “contains numerous false claims in an attempt to disparage and delegitimise a distinguished human rights advocate, placing her at risk of physical danger in retribution for her brave work.”

“We are concerned that the government’s statement seeks to place the blame on human rights defenders if the European Union determines that Sri Lanka failed to meet its human rights commitments under GSP+, the preferential tariff system,” the statement added. 

The groups also expressed concern over Sri Lanka’s statement for “falsely equating human rights defenders and human rights advocacy with those pursuing ‘terrorism’”.

“The statement’s language aligns these baseless allegations with vague and frequently abused provisions under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), exposing Ms. Satkunanathan to a heightened risk of threats, attacks, and persecution.” 

In their statement, the groups further stressed the other inaccuracies in the Foreign Ministry’s statement, including the government’s claim that they are continuing to engage with the UN Human Rights Council. However, in 2020 the Rajapaksa regime confirmed that their government was withdrawing from co-sponsoring a UN resolution on accountability for war crimes. 

The recent attack on Satkunanathan “exemplifies threats faced by human rights defenders, particularly when they engage with foreign and international forums, and it further shows the government’s refusal to address the ongoing serious human rights violations taking place in the country,” the joint statement noted. 

Signatories of the statement are: Amnesty International, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), FIDH, in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.

Read the full statement here

 

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