Sri Lanka: Human Rights Watch Calls for Reforms to Protect Citizens’ Rights

Then go Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on a new president on Tuesday Sri LankaRanil Wickremesinghe, to carry out a series of reform measures to protect the fundamental rights of all residents of the country.

HRW expressed its concern about the political, economic and human rights crisis that Sri Lanka has plunged into after “years of mismanagement and human rights violations”.

For this reason, the NGO called on the government to prioritize protecting the population from further deprivation by implementing appropriate social protection policies and combating widespread corruption while respecting fundamental rights.

“President Wickremesinghe faces huge challenges, but imposing draconian emergency rules, arrests of politically motivated protest leaders and increased surveillance by activist groups will not solve Sri Lanka’s dire problems,” he said. Meenakshi Ganguly.

“Sri Lanka’s partners have made it clear that international economic assistance will only be effective if the government respects human rights and the rule of law and addresses the root causes of the crisis,” he added. Ganguly.

What happened in Sri Lanka?

On July 18, Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency that gives the security forces broad powers, suspends many basic rights, and imposes harsh penalties for misdemeanors or vaguely defined offences.

The day after his inauguration, Wickremesinghe sent police and the army to disperse the protesters from a place they had occupied for months in downtown Colombo. More than 50 people, including lawyers and journalists, were beaten and injured during the eviction, HRW said in a statement.

“During the current crackdown on dissent, authorities have detained at least 30 protest organizers, in many cases without warrants or using plainclothes officers, who make arrests without due process of law,” he said.

For these reasons, the organization has developed a set of recommendations for Wickremesinghe Executiveamong which the guarantee of freedom of opinion, the lifting of emergency provisions that violate fundamental rights, or a formal moratorium on the use Terrorism Prevention Act until a law on involuntary actions is passed.

New protection for citizens

They also recommended the creation of a new social safety net to protect citizens from the effects of the economic crisis or the resumption of participation Sri Lanka on the initiative Return of stolen assets (StAR), association The World Bank D United Nations.

In addition, they also called on Wickremesinghe to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into allegations of serious human rights violations and high-level corruption and bring those responsible to justice.

“In recent months, many residents of the city of Sri Lanka They boldly took to the streets calling for reform, accountability for corruption and protection of fundamental rights… Instead of trying to silence the protesters, President Wickremesinghe should listen to them,” Ganguly said.

(EuropePress)