United Nations human rights experts have urged the Government of Sri Lanka to revise its proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSTA) so the bill is consistent with international human rights law, the UN human rights office said on 9 November.

The experts welcomed the proposed repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979, which they said enabled many serious human rights violations, including torture and enforced disappearances, before, during and since the country's 26-year civil war, including abuse against minorities, human rights defenders, journalists and civil society.

What still concerns the experts

The experts said the Sri Lankan Government had presented a much-improved latest draft of the PSTA in response to feedback, but emphasised that some vital concerns remain to be addressed. Detention orders must be subject to prompt and effective judicial control and oversight, including to test the legality, necessity and proportionality of the detention, the experts said. They also want the definition of terrorism restricted to acts intentionally causing death or serious injury, so mere property damage alone does not count as terrorism.

The experts called for the military to be stripped of powers of arrest, questioning and search, and for the president's power to guide implementation of the law to be limited. They also warned that the 1979 act must not continue to be used even as an interim measure once the new law comes into force.

Call for consultation

The experts had already raised concerns about an earlier draft of the PSTA and called for consultation with stakeholders, and offered technical assistance to the authorities to improve the bill. The statement was issued by UN special rapporteurs covering counter-terrorism, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, freedom of expression, human rights defenders and extrajudicial executions, the Daily Express reported.