UN: Sri Lanka's Anti-Terror Bill "Perpetuates Past Horrors"

COLOMBO (News 1st); The United Nations Human Rights Office has expressed serious concerns over the revised Anti-Terrorism Bill currently under consideration by the Sri Lankan parliament.

The United Nations Human Rights Office in a statement said that Sri Lanka's Anti-Terrorism Bill, intended to replace the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), has been denounced for perpetuating past human rights violations and failing to uphold international standards.

Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the repeal of the PTA should be a turning point for meaningful reform of Sri Lanka's approach to internal security, but this proposed law instead risks perpetuating patterns of violations from the past.

The United Nations Human Rights Office said that the bill defines acts of “terrorism” overly broadly, restricts the scope of judicial guarantees, especially with respect to challenging the lawfulness of detention orders, and curtails the ability of the Human Rights Commission to visit places of detention, among other problematic provisions.

It warned that if passed in its current form, the Bill would grant excessive powers to the executive to restrict rights, with limited or no safeguards against abuse of such powers. 

The United Nations Human Rights Office urged authorities to revise the Bill and bring it fully into line with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations.