Proposed anti-terrorism law threatens civil rights in Sri Lanka

20-04-2023

Aysu Amaha Öztürk

Sri Lanka and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence

Last month, Sri Lanka introduced a new Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), which is meant to be presented in the parliament later this month (Rezwan, 2023). This Bill is intended to replace the existing law regarding terrorism. The current law on terrorism is known to detain and torture minorities in Myanmar, mainly the Tamils and Muslims (Rezwan, 2023). So, it is a law that is unfair towards minorities and therefore, should be changed. However, the ATA is even more dangerous for democracy and human rights in Sri Lanka. 

There seems to be much dissent about this Bill as it does not have a precise definition of terrorism and includes offences that are already punishable under the criminal code. The new Bill would also grant law officials a legal basis to detain individuals without warrants and provide government officials with the right to restrict gatherings and organisations (Rezwan, 2023). Thus, the new Bill is capable of determining some political protests and dissenting opinions as an act of terrorism (Senaratne, 2023). 

Sri Lanka ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1980 (Ratification Status for Sri Lanka, 2023). Article 19 gives the right to freedom of expression. Article 21 provides the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. Both articles are subjected to restrictions in specific cases, for example, to protect public order or national security. However, this often is used by authoritative governments as a measure to fully restrict these rights. This is something the Sri Lankan government can do even more easily if this new Bill is approved by the parliament (Ganutilleke, 2023). As they are party to the ICCPR, the Sri Lankan government should review this new Bill and understand how these aforementioned rights are jeopardised with it. 

Sources and further reading:

Ganutilleke, G. [@GehanDG]. (2023, April 4). A thread on the new Anti-Terrorism Bill in #lka. [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/GehanDG/status/1643131328995667968.

 Human Rights Bodies. Ratification Status for Sri Lanka. United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies Database. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=119&Lang=EN 

Rezwan. (2023, April 17). Sri Lanka's proposed anti-terrorism law aims to curb civil protests. Global Voices. https://advox.globalvoices.org/2023/04/17/sri-lankas-proposed-anti-terrorism-law-aims-to-curb-civil-protests/

Senaratne, K. (2023, April 9). The Proposed Anti-Terrorism Act: Why? How?. Groudviews. https://groundviews.org/2023/04/09/the-proposed-anti-terrorism-act-why-how/