COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
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SRI LANKA 7 MARCH <strong>2012</strong><br />
Human Rights<br />
7. INTRODUCTION<br />
7.01 The US State Department 2010 Human Rights <strong>Report</strong>: Sri Lanka (USSD 2010),<br />
released on 8 April 2011 114 , observed:<br />
―[In 2010] The government and its agents continued to be responsible for serious<br />
human rights problems. Security forces committed arbitrary and unlawful killings,<br />
although the number of extrajudicial killings declined. Disappearances continued to be a<br />
problem, although the total also declined. Many independent observers cited a<br />
continued climate of fear among minority populations, in large part based on past<br />
incidents. Security forces tortured and abused detainees; poor prison conditions<br />
remained a problem; and authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens.<br />
Repercussions of the nearly 30-year war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam<br />
(LTTE) continued to have an effect on human rights, despite the defeat of the LTTE in<br />
May 2009. In an effort to prevent any violent separatist resurgence, the government<br />
continued to search for and detain persons it suspected of being LTTE sympathizers or<br />
operatives. Official impunity was a problem; there were no public indications or reports<br />
that civilian or military courts convicted any military or police members for human rights<br />
abuses. The government established a post-war Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation<br />
Commission (LLRC). Denial of fair public trial remained a problem; the judiciary was<br />
subject to executive influence; and the government infringed on citizens' privacy rights.<br />
There were instances when the government restricted freedom of speech and of the<br />
press, and there were incidents of restrictions on freedom of assembly and association.<br />
Authorities harassed journalists critical of the government.<br />
―Violence and discrimination against women were problems, as were abuse of children<br />
and trafficking in persons. Discrimination against persons with disabilities, persons with<br />
HIV/AIDS, and the ethnic Tamil minority continued, and a disproportionate number of<br />
victims of human rights violations were Tamils. Discrimination and violence against<br />
persons based on their sexual orientation were problems. Trafficking in persons, limits<br />
on workers' rights, and child labor remained problems, although the parliament<br />
implemented new regulations on child labor at the end of the year [2010].‖<br />
7.02 Human Rights and Democracy: The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth <strong>Office</strong> <strong>Report</strong> -<br />
Section VII: Human Rights in Countries of Concern 115 , release on 31 <strong>March</strong> 2011<br />
observed:<br />
―The number of reports of violent human rights violations fell in 2010 as the security<br />
situation improved following the end of the military conflict; long-standing Emergency<br />
Regulations were partially lifted; and the humanitarian situation improved significantly.<br />
However, the overall human rights position in Sri Lanka remained a concern. Despite<br />
the end of the fighting, there continued to be human rights violations in 2010, including<br />
114 US State Department 2010 Human Rights <strong>Report</strong>: Sri Lanka (USSD 2010), released on 8 April 2011,<br />
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/sca/154486.htm , date accessed 11 May 2011, Introduction<br />
115 Human Rights and Democracy: The 2010 Foreign & Commonwealth <strong>Office</strong> <strong>Report</strong> - Section VII:<br />
Human Rights in Countries of Concern, released on 31 <strong>March</strong> 2011<br />
http://centralcontent.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/human-rights-reports/accessible-hrd-report-2010 date<br />
accessed 24 May 2011<br />
60 The main text of this <strong>COI</strong> <strong>Report</strong> contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section<br />
to 2 <strong>March</strong> <strong>2012</strong>.