FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-124-2017
28 September 2017
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
WORLD: AHRC urgent appeals celebrates its 20th year
Asian Human Rights Commission is proud to announce that it is today
celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its Urgent Appeals Programme.
The first urgent appeal was issued on 17 September 1997. Ever since
Asian Human Rights Commission’s Urgent Appeal Programme has
continuously issued urgent appeals relating to human rights
violations, reported from many countries of Asia.
Through this programme literarily thousands of victims of human rights
abuses have been assisted and many of them have testified that their
lives have been saved or that they were able to get many other reliefs
for violations of their rights due to the urgent appeals issued by the
AHRC.
AHRC urgent appeals programme has for last 21 years operated on a
daily basis to keeping large number of recipients updated on human
rights abuses taking place in the region. Massive amount of data has
been collected through this programme. On the basis of this data many
interventions have been made to various governments as well as to
United Nations Human Rights Agencies.
AHRC urgent appeals have relied on tireless works done by the partners
of the Asian Human Rights Commission who are based in deferent
countries of Asia. These partners keep daily contacts with the persons
who seek their support, record their complaints, provide various
servicers and also send these reports to the Asian Human Rights
Commission to initiate urgent appeals.
Large volumes of publications have been made by the Asian Human Rights
Commission on the basis of data collected through the urgent appeals.
These reports have contributed to public debates locally as well as
internationally. Many volumes of these reports have been published in
the Article 2 which is a regular publication of the Asian Legal
Resource Centre. These volumes are available in www.article2.org.
Beside all the urgent appeals published by the AHRC are available in
the websites maintain by the AHRC. Particularly see
www.humanrights.asia for past publications.
We reproduced the first urgent appeal issued in 17 September 1997.
That urgent appeal was related to large number of force disappearances
which had taken place in Sri Lanka.
AHRC UA970917 Sri Lanka 17 September 1997
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION URGENT APPEAL
Three commissions created by the Sri Lankan government have
established the disappearances of 16,742 people. While the claim that
the number of disappearances are much larger needs to be further
investigated, the immediate issue now is what conclusions can be drawn
from the facts already established.
It should be underlined that those who have disappeared in the
commission reports do not include people killed by the rebel groups.
The disappeared are only the people who have been arrested by the law
enforcement agencies and went missing thereafter. Thus, the issue is
entirely one of the responsibility of state officers, even if some
state agencies sometimes may have used people who did not belong to
their agencies to carry out the disappearances.
The approach proposed by the government thus far is only to prosecute
the people responsible for the disappearances - a large number who
have been identified - according to a government statement issued in
early September.
Even if many involved people are identified, however, it would be a
fraction of those who have caused the disappearances of 16,742 people,
for the approach presently adopted has treated criminal involvement
too narrowly it only involves those directly responsible for the
disappearances using direct criminal liability as the sole basis of
liability.
A very important aspect though that needs to be considered is implied
liability on the basis of the vast number of proven cases of
disappearances. Implied liability arises from acts of commission which
have contributed to the causation of these disappearances and acts of
omission to prevent the occurrences of disappearances. The
responsibility for acts of commission as well as omission rests
primarily on the government of the time. The government of the time
cannot claim any valid defence in this regard as causing the
disappearances or failure to prevent the disappearances cannot be
justified in any way. Even in an insurgency, causing disappearances is
not a legally valid combat tactic.
In addition to the government's criminal liability that arises solely
from the act of the disappearances themselves, there are other factors
adding to the gravity of these cases, such as the conspiracy to cause
these disappearances, acts of encouragement to cause these
disappearances, acts of supervision of the process of carrying out
these disappearances and acts of failure to divulge information
regarding these disappearances. Thus, the liability for these
disappearances would spread to the leaders of the former government,
the regional leaders of the former government, higher officers of the
law enforcement agencies and the higher regional officers of the areas
where the disappearances have taken place.
The primary consideration in dealing with these disappearances should
be to create a political and social agreement to avoid the occurrence
of disappearances in the future. This is even more urgent as there are
complaints of about 600 missing people on the Jaffna Peninsula since
its capture by government forces in December 1995.
It is not possible to restore confidence in the State's willingness as
well as determination to control its law enforcement agencies without
taking serious action against the large numbers of disappearances that
have been established.
Furthermore, the law enforcement officers themselves need to be
convinced of their criminal liability. However, law enforcement
officers could claim that they have been unfairly treated if the
politicians who were the architects of the policy that caused these
disappearances are immune to criminal liability.
The public has a right to know the complete details of how such a vast
number of disappearances took place in the country. Among them are the
surviving members of the families of those who disappeared. Full
disclosure of the entire process may help society, particularly those
directly concerned, to feel that justice has been done at last and
that the justice system may recover from the deep decline it has been
suffering because of the disappearances.
Whether the suitable mode of justice in this instance is one of direct
criminal trials or one similar to the Truth Commission in South Africa
is left for the present government to decide in consultation with the
people. Revenge is not the driving force for such prosecutions.
Justice against gross injustice, recreating confidence in the system
of justice and helping people and society arrive at genuine
reconciliation are the primary considerations.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: To assist the people of Sri Lanka in this process,
you are encouraged to write letters to the government of Sri Lanka and
the U.N. Rapporteur on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to take
urgent action on this matter. If you would like, you may use the
sample letters below or similar letters to the following addresses
Her Excellency President Chandrika B. Kumaratunga, Presidential
Residence, Temple Trees, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka. Fax (94) 1-333-703
celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its Urgent Appeals Programme.
The first urgent appeal was issued on 17 September 1997. Ever since
Asian Human Rights Commission’s Urgent Appeal Programme has
continuously issued urgent appeals relating to human rights
violations, reported from many countries of Asia.
Through this programme literarily thousands of victims of human rights
abuses have been assisted and many of them have testified that their
lives have been saved or that they were able to get many other reliefs
for violations of their rights due to the urgent appeals issued by the
AHRC.
AHRC urgent appeals programme has for last 21 years operated on a
daily basis to keeping large number of recipients updated on human
rights abuses taking place in the region. Massive amount of data has
been collected through this programme. On the basis of this data many
interventions have been made to various governments as well as to
United Nations Human Rights Agencies.
AHRC urgent appeals have relied on tireless works done by the partners
of the Asian Human Rights Commission who are based in deferent
countries of Asia. These partners keep daily contacts with the persons
who seek their support, record their complaints, provide various
servicers and also send these reports to the Asian Human Rights
Commission to initiate urgent appeals.
Large volumes of publications have been made by the Asian Human Rights
Commission on the basis of data collected through the urgent appeals.
These reports have contributed to public debates locally as well as
internationally. Many volumes of these reports have been published in
the Article 2 which is a regular publication of the Asian Legal
Resource Centre. These volumes are available in www.article2.org.
Beside all the urgent appeals published by the AHRC are available in
the websites maintain by the AHRC. Particularly see
www.humanrights.asia for past publications.
We reproduced the first urgent appeal issued in 17 September 1997.
That urgent appeal was related to large number of force disappearances
which had taken place in Sri Lanka.
AHRC UA970917 Sri Lanka 17 September 1997
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION URGENT APPEAL
Three commissions created by the Sri Lankan government have
established the disappearances of 16,742 people. While the claim that
the number of disappearances are much larger needs to be further
investigated, the immediate issue now is what conclusions can be drawn
from the facts already established.
It should be underlined that those who have disappeared in the
commission reports do not include people killed by the rebel groups.
The disappeared are only the people who have been arrested by the law
enforcement agencies and went missing thereafter. Thus, the issue is
entirely one of the responsibility of state officers, even if some
state agencies sometimes may have used people who did not belong to
their agencies to carry out the disappearances.
The approach proposed by the government thus far is only to prosecute
the people responsible for the disappearances - a large number who
have been identified - according to a government statement issued in
early September.
Even if many involved people are identified, however, it would be a
fraction of those who have caused the disappearances of 16,742 people,
for the approach presently adopted has treated criminal involvement
too narrowly it only involves those directly responsible for the
disappearances using direct criminal liability as the sole basis of
liability.
A very important aspect though that needs to be considered is implied
liability on the basis of the vast number of proven cases of
disappearances. Implied liability arises from acts of commission which
have contributed to the causation of these disappearances and acts of
omission to prevent the occurrences of disappearances. The
responsibility for acts of commission as well as omission rests
primarily on the government of the time. The government of the time
cannot claim any valid defence in this regard as causing the
disappearances or failure to prevent the disappearances cannot be
justified in any way. Even in an insurgency, causing disappearances is
not a legally valid combat tactic.
In addition to the government's criminal liability that arises solely
from the act of the disappearances themselves, there are other factors
adding to the gravity of these cases, such as the conspiracy to cause
these disappearances, acts of encouragement to cause these
disappearances, acts of supervision of the process of carrying out
these disappearances and acts of failure to divulge information
regarding these disappearances. Thus, the liability for these
disappearances would spread to the leaders of the former government,
the regional leaders of the former government, higher officers of the
law enforcement agencies and the higher regional officers of the areas
where the disappearances have taken place.
The primary consideration in dealing with these disappearances should
be to create a political and social agreement to avoid the occurrence
of disappearances in the future. This is even more urgent as there are
complaints of about 600 missing people on the Jaffna Peninsula since
its capture by government forces in December 1995.
It is not possible to restore confidence in the State's willingness as
well as determination to control its law enforcement agencies without
taking serious action against the large numbers of disappearances that
have been established.
Furthermore, the law enforcement officers themselves need to be
convinced of their criminal liability. However, law enforcement
officers could claim that they have been unfairly treated if the
politicians who were the architects of the policy that caused these
disappearances are immune to criminal liability.
The public has a right to know the complete details of how such a vast
number of disappearances took place in the country. Among them are the
surviving members of the families of those who disappeared. Full
disclosure of the entire process may help society, particularly those
directly concerned, to feel that justice has been done at last and
that the justice system may recover from the deep decline it has been
suffering because of the disappearances.
Whether the suitable mode of justice in this instance is one of direct
criminal trials or one similar to the Truth Commission in South Africa
is left for the present government to decide in consultation with the
people. Revenge is not the driving force for such prosecutions.
Justice against gross injustice, recreating confidence in the system
of justice and helping people and society arrive at genuine
reconciliation are the primary considerations.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: To assist the people of Sri Lanka in this process,
you are encouraged to write letters to the government of Sri Lanka and
the U.N. Rapporteur on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to take
urgent action on this matter. If you would like, you may use the
sample letters below or similar letters to the following addresses
Her Excellency President Chandrika B. Kumaratunga, Presidential
Residence, Temple Trees, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka. Fax (94) 1-333-703
