COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION DISCUSSES SITUATION IN SRI LANKA AND PAKISTAN WITH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning heard from civil society representatives about the situation of racial discrimination in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, ahead of the Committee’s review of the reports of these countries this week.

With regard to Sri Lanka, civil society representatives said that violations against minorities were still taking place under the new Government, and some had involved State officials. They raised particular concerns about discrimination against the Tamil minority, particularly with regard to access to land for plantation communities. The application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act disproportionately affected the Tamil minority and served as a tool to stifle dissent. They also referred to widespread incidents of hate crimes that were hardly investigated, and pointed specifically at legislation regulating the construction of places of worship, which was applied with extreme prejudice against Muslims and Protestant Christians. Women and girls suffered multiple forms of discrimination based on their gender, ethnicity and caste.

Turning to the situation in Pakistan, non-governmental organizations were concerned that no legislation in Pakistan properly defined racial discrimination, and that no indicator was in place to measure such phenomenon. The State party’s report contained information based on outdated data, and failed to refer to minorities facing discrimination. They expressed concerns about the situation of the Hazara Shi’a community, which was often targeted by Sunni extremists and suffered everyday discrimination and restriction of their freedom of mobility and access to economic, social and cultural rights. Members of the Sheedi minority also continued to face discrimination in social and economic spheres such as marriage and employment, and lacked political representation.

Speaking in the discussion were representatives of the International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination, Minority Rights Group and Centre for Social Justice.

Live webcast of country reviews is available at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org.

The Committee will reconvene this afternoon at 3 p.m., to start its consideration of the combined tenth to seventeenth periodic report of Sri Lanka (CERD/C/LKA/10-17).

Statements on Sri Lanka

International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination welcomed good practices by the new Sri Lankan Government and its efforts towards solving minority issues, bringing reconciliation and resettling internally displaced persons, as well as strengthening the rule of law and democracy. Challenges remained however. The rights of members of the Tamil community had been continuously violated due to the structural discrimination and the lack of political will to tackle inequality. Of particular concern was the situation of the plantation Tamil community. Land issue should be a priority, as plantation communities remained landless. This situation was intolerable and steps taken by the Government were insufficient. Plantation communities also lagged behind in terms of education. Widespread incidents of hate crimes, especially by Bodu Bala Sena, a hard-line Sinhala Buddhist group, were hardly investigated, and those responsible were hardly prosecuted. For example, the Government had not prosecuted those responsible for the attack against a Muslim community in Aluthgama in June 2014, which had resulted in the death of four persons. Another major concern should be the representation of minorities in politics, particularly women. Women and girls suffered multiple forms of discrimination based on their gender, ethnicity and caste.

Minority Rights Group noted that ethnic and religious discrimination in Sri Lanka were deeply intertwined and often overlapping. Violations against minorities were still taking place under the new Government, and some had involved State officials. Minority Rights Group pointed specifically at a circular requiring the Government to grant permission for the construction of all new places of worship, which was applied with extreme prejudice against Muslims and Protestant Christians. Hate speech also remained a key issue facing minorities, while legislative inaction suggested the unwillingness of the State party to provide adequate physical safety to minorities. Continuing, Minority Rights Group highlighted issues resulting from the application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which disproportionately affected the Tamil minority and served as a tool to stifle dissent. Finally, it referred to the situation of war-affected women, who lacked security and protection, which was linked to the massive presence of security forces in the north of the country who, for years, had perpetrated sexual violence with almost total impunity.

Discussion on Sri Lanka

An Expert noted that the Committee had to acknowledge the Government’s willingness to address human rights issues, and its ambitious plan for reforms.

Experts asked questions about specific activities being taken in the framework of transitional justice. Had any pardons been granted? What had been the involvement of the Tamil community and of women in these measures? An Expert raised a question about the independence and impartiality of domestic courts, particularly of the Supreme Court. Of particular concern was the appointment and removal of judges on political grounds. Experts asked whether the possibility to choose between personal law and customary law for civil matters had led to discrimination between communities. Were women allowed to make such choices?

Another Expert raised a question on discrimination against religious minorities in Sri Lanka. An Expert asked whether the Buddhist majority also needed permission for the construction of places of worship. An Expert asked what the content of school curricula was, particularly history books, and whether they could contribute to combatting negative stereotypes and hate speech against the Tamil population and plantation communities. On the issue of land-grabbing, an Expert asked how land was accessed to in the first place. An Expert asked for information on the caste system in Sri Lanka.

What measures had been taken to ensure the safe return of displaced persons? What measures had been taken to resolve the issue of statelessness? What was the situation of human rights defenders in Sri Lanka under the new Government? Had it improved? An Expert asked what was the non-governmental organizations’ position on the Antiterrorism Act.

Responding to some of these questions, civil society representatives said that the Government was still negotiating the creation of transitional justice mechanisms at this stage. Regarding land issues, the Government was asked to provide additional land to plantation Tamils, particularly to women. In addition, the current wage for plantation workers was insufficient for them to live a decent life. The Government had a key role to play in that regard, to impose a minimum wage on the private sector.

The law requiring authorization for the construction of places of worship had been applied in a discriminatory way against the Muslim community. The caste system led to discrimination against non-dominant castes. Although the situation of human rights defenders had improved under the new Government, reports of harassment continued, particularly against Tamil rights defenders and under the Antiterrorism Act.


Statements on Pakistan

Centre for Social Justice was concerned that no legislation in Pakistan properly defined racial discrimination, and that no indicator was in place to measure this phenomenon. Around 2,000 women were killed every year in Pakistan, in the name of “honour”. There was also a large number of displaced persons. The data used in the State party report was outdated, as there was a lack of will to undertake a fair and credible census, which would redefine the state of ethnicity in the country. Budget allocations were based on such data, and therefore discrepancies remained. There was no mention of the Kalash, the Dalit or the Sheedi people in the report, despite the grave violations against them. Similarly, no caste or gender-based data was available. This lack of data and the discrepancies in the report made it impossible to measure progress achieved by Pakistan to combat racial discrimination.

Minority Rights Group mentioned continuing barriers to the political participation of minorities, including local legislation that precluded religious minorities from directly electing candidates to fill minority seats. Continuing, it expressed concerns about the situation of the Hazara Shi’a community, which was often targeted by Sunni extremists and suffered everyday discrimination and restriction of their freedom of mobility and access to economic, social and cultural rights. The Government had failed to investigate these attacks and to prosecute perpetrators. Also, there remained ambiguity concerning the extent to which ethnic minorities were recognised and protected under the Constitution, which raised questions over whether the definition of minority adequately took into account all grounds of discrimination. Members of the Sheedi minority continued to face discrimination in social and economic spheres such as marriage and employment, and lacked political representation. Sheedi women were particularly vulnerable.

Discussion on Pakistan

Experts raised a number of questions with regard to Pakistan’s legal arsenal to domesticate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and to combat racial discrimination.

Experts referred to acts of terrorism against minorities, and asked what impact the counter-terrorism legislation had vis-à-vis the armed forces? Questions also pertained to Pakistan’s blasphemy legislation. Other questions pertained to discrimination against refugees and asylum seekers.

A Committee Member asked for figures regarding honour killings.

An Expert noted the views that there were discrepancies and inconsistencies in the State party’s report, including regarding the situation of migrants and discrimination in the workplace.

Civil society representatives were asked whether Pakistan had invited them to participate in the elaboration of its periodic report. Experts asked for details regarding Pakistan’s national human rights institution.

Responding, representatives of the non-governmental organizations explained that the definition of minorities in the Constitution had not changed since the country’s last review by the Committee and despite recommendations made at the time. They pointed at the negative role played by the media in relation to honour killings, which contributed to perpetuate this practice. No funding had been given to the national human rights commission, which compromised its independence and impartiality.



For use of the information media; not an official record

CERD16/021E