Sri Lanka is a democratic republic with an active multiparty system.
Constitutional power is shared between the popularly elected President and
the 225-member Parliament.
Since 1983, the Government had fought the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist organization
fighting for a
separate ethnic Tamil state in the north and east of the country;
however, in December 2001, the Government and the LTTE each announced
unilateral cease fires. This historic process of reconciliation between the
Government and the LTTE continued during the year in
Norwegian-facilitated talks in Thailand and Norway. By all accounts, the
talks were successful and both sides agreed to hold further meetings in
2003. As a result of the peace process, there has been a sharp reduction in
roadblocks and checkpoints around the country, the return of approximately
220,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their points of origin in the
north and east, and to the opening of numerous investigations into
questionable actions by security force personnel.
Violence, including at least 50 deaths, and irregularities
marred the December 2001 parliamentary elections in which the United
National Front (UNF), a coalition of parties led by the United National
Party (UNP), won a majority in Parliament for a 6-year term. Fearing
possible infiltration by the LTTE, the Government prohibited more than
40,000 Tamil voters from crossing army checkpoints from LTTE controlled
territories to vote. Chandrika Kumaratunga, head of the People's Alliance
(PA) coalition, won reelection in 1999 for a second 5-year presidential
term. The Government generally respected constitutional provisions for an
independent judiciary.
The Ministry of Interior controls the 60,000-member police
force, which is responsible for internal security in most areas of the
country, and has been used in military operations against the LTTE. The
Ministry of Defense controls the 120,000-member Army (which includes the
Army Volunteer Force), the 17,000-member Navy, and the 18,500 member Air
Force. In the past, the police paramilitary Special Task Force (STF) battled
the LTTE. The more than 20,000 member Home Guards, an armed force drawn from
local communities and responsible to the police, provide security for Muslim
and Sinhalese village communities near LTTE-controlled areas. In previous
years, the Government also armed and appeared to direct various anti-LTTE
Tamil militias; however, during the year, the Government implemented
programs to disarm the militias that previously had been linked with the
security forces. Some members of the security forces committed serious human
right abuses.
Sri Lanka is a low-income country with a market economy based
mainly on the export of textiles, tea, rubber, coconuts, and gems. It also
earns substantial foreign exchange from the repatriated earnings of citizens
employed abroad, and from tourism. The population is approximately 18.5
million. Real GDP growth was -1.4 percent in 2001. Growth during the year
was forecast at 2-3 percent. The decline in 2001 was attributed mainly to
the worldwide economic downturn, the July 2001 LTTE attack on Colombo's
international airport, and prolonged power outages throughout the country.
The economy recovered slowly during the year, aided by economic reform and
increased donor assistance.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its
citizens; however, there were serious problems in some areas. Unlike
previous years, there were disputed reports of security forces committing
extrajudicial killings and no reports of disappearances. However, the
military and police reportedly tortured detainees. There was at least one
report of a death in custody. Security forces have raped a woman while they
were in custody. Torture remained a problem and prison conditions remained
poor. There were no reports of arbitrary arrest during the year. During the
year, the Government released more than 750 Tamils held under the Prevention
of Terrorism Act (PTA) and no new arrests under the PTA occurred during the
year. Observers claim that the PTA, like the Emergency Regulations (ER)
repealed in 2001, permitted arbitrary arrests of Tamils. Unlike in previous
years, there were no reports of the security forces failing to comply with
legal protections, including impunity for those responsible for human rights
violations.
The Government infringed on citizens' privacy rights; however,
restrictions on the freedom of the press were eased somewhat. Unlike in
previous years, there were no reports that security forces harassed
journalists. The LTTE permitted controlled access to uncleared areas of the
country to journalists, in effect lifting some censorship in the areas it
controls. Some LTTE-imposed restrictions remained on freedom of movement,
such as from Vavuniya to Jaffna. Violence and discrimination against women,
child prostitution, child labor, and discrimination against persons with
disabilities continued to be problems. There is some discrimination and
occasional violence against religious minorities, and institutionalized
ethnic discrimination against Tamils remains a problem. Trafficking in women
and children for the purpose of forced labor occurs, and there is some
trafficking of women and children for the commercial sex industry. There is
evidence of a continued but declining international interest in the
country's children for sex trade. Sri Lanka was invited by the Community of
Democracies' (CD) Convening Group to attend the November 2002 second CD
Ministerial Meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea, as a participant.
In the past few years, the Government has taken steps to
address human rights concerns. During the year, the Government named a new
chairman for the National Human Rights Commission (HRC). In 2000 the
Government established an Interministerial Permanent Standing Committee and
an Interministerial Working Group on Human Rights Issues, chaired by senior
officials, to investigate human rights abuses. At the same time, the
Government established the Prosecution of Torture Perpetrators Unit, under
the direct supervision of the Attorney General.
Unlike in previous years, former Tamil terrorist organizations
aligned with the former PA Government, who were suspected still to be armed,
were not implicated in cases involving extrajudicial killing and torture,
although incidents of detention and extortion still were reported during the
year.
The LTTE continued to commit serious human rights abuses. The
LTTE reportedly committed several unlawful killings, and was responsible for
disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrest, detentions, and extortion.
Through a campaign of intimidation, the LTTE continued to undermine the work
of elected local government bodies in Jaffna. On occasion the LTTE prevented
political and governmental activities from occurring in the north and east.
The LTTE continued to control large sections of the north and east of the
country. The LTTE denied those under its control the right to change their
government, did not provide for fair trials, infringed on privacy rights,
somewhat restricted freedom of movement, used child soldiers, and
discriminated against ethnic and religious minorities. The LTTE released all
of the military personnel it reportedly held in its custody during the year.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
Unlike in previous years, there were no credible reports that
security forces committed extrajudicial killings. There were no developments
in the following 2001 cases: The death in custody of Kanapathypillai
Udayakumar in January; the security forces killing of two persons during a
rally in July; the air force personnel killing of Sivagnanam Manohari in
September.
Impunity remained a problem. Between April 1995 and December
2001, several hundred persons were killed or disappeared after being taken
into security force custody. With the exception of the six security force
personnel convicted in the 1996 killing of university student Krishanthi
Kumaraswamy; there have been no other convictions for extrajudicial
killings. At year's end, the government was investigating 29 cases of rape,
109 cases of torture, and 500 cases of disappearance by security force
personnel. Although there were numerous cases in which military personnel
may have committed human rights violations for which they have not been
identified and brought to justice, the Government passed indictments against
security force personnel in a number of high profile cases; including the
Bindunuwewa massacre and the Ranjani rape and murder case.
In 2000 nine Tamil civilians were reported missing in
Mirusuvil after being arrested by the army (SLA). One person escaped, and
reported the incident to police and the local magistrate. The escapee
identified two SLA soldiers as the perpetrators, and the soldiers admitted
to torturing nine civilians and murdering eight of them. Nine soldiers later
were arrested for the torture and killings. The army commander
administratively punished the soldiers by having their salaries withheld
(see Sections 1.b. and 1.c.). The case was transferred to the Anuradhapura
Magistrate's Court for adjudication in November 2001. On November 27, five
members of the army were charged with the murders and were standing trial at
year's end.
In November 2000, four mutilated bodies were found in
Nilaveli. The following day Tamil civilians protested against the deaths
claiming that the naval personnel involved attempted to coerce statements
from relatives of the deceased that the dead were members of the LTTE. The
bodies of the two primary organizers of the demonstration later were found.
Following a military investigation, the commander of the local navy base and
other key military personnel were transferred in June 2001, but no one has
been charged in connection with the killings and no further action was
expected in this case.
In October 2000 local villagers killed 27 Tamil men held at
the Bindunuwewa rehabilitation camp for former child soldiers and 15 others
were injured. Police allegedly took part in the killings and did nothing to
prevent the villagers from entering the detention camp. Violence after the
killings continued for almost 1 week before police were able to restore
order. The HRC stated that the police were guilty of "grave dereliction of
duty." Three of the survivors were able to testify at a Presidential
Hearing, which met regularly throughout 2001. Many witnesses at the hearing
criticized police actions at the scene and during the initial
investigations. In 2001 all suspects in the case were released on bail. Due
to the failure to show at the scheduled hearing in November, the court has
remanded all suspects until completion of the trial. At year's end, 10
police officers and 41 villagers were indicted and were standing trial.
There were no developments in the April 2000 killing of the
chief suspect in the 1993 killing of prominent politician Lalith
Athulathmudali.
In previous years, some cases of extrajudicial killings were
reprisals against civilians for LTTE attacks in which members of the
security forces or civilians were killed or injured. In most cases, the
security forces claimed that the victims were members of the LTTE, but human
rights monitors believed otherwise. In Thampalakamam, near Trincomalee, in
1998, police and home guards allegedly killed eight Tamil civilians,
possibly in reprisal for the LTTE bombing of the Temple of the Tooth a week
earlier. The Government arrested police officers and home guards, charging 4
with murder and 17 with unlawful assembly. At year's end, eight police
officers had been indicted and hearings continued.
Although the courts in 2000 ordered five soldiers arrested for
the 1999 gang rape and murder of Ida Carmelita, a young Tamil girl, the case
remained pending at year's end. Court hearings continued during the year.
At his sentencing for the 1998 rape and murder of Krishanthi
Kumaraswamy, a Tamil university student, former Lance Corporal Somaratne
Rajapakse claimed knowledge of mass graves at Chemmani in Jaffna containing
the bodies of up to 400 persons killed by security forces in 1996. The other
five defendants corroborated his claim of mass graves in the Chemmani area,
where they allegedly had buried between 120 and 140 bodies on the orders of
their superiors. Exhumations in 1999 yielded 15 skeletons. Two of the
victims were identified as young men who had disappeared in 1996. In 2001,
13 of the bodies had not been identified. Rajapakse and others named a total
of 20 security force personnel, including former policemen, as responsible
for the killings. The remaining unidentified bodies underwent DNA testing
for identification purposes. The Attorney General's office has indicated
that it was not satisfied with the inconclusive initial results and
reportedly was searching for funds to provide for a more detailed test. At
year's end, the case still was pending. All suspects in the case have been
released on bail.
There were no developments in the case against eight soldiers
and one reserve police constable arrested on suspicion of the massacre of 24
Tamil villagers in Kamarapuram in February 1996. In addition, there were no
developments in the trial of 22 Special Task Force (STF) members arrested on
suspicion of killing 23 Tamil youths at Bolgoda Lake in 1995.
In 1994 the PA Government began prosecutions in several
extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by members of the security
forces. The trial of 21 soldiers accused of massacring 35 Tamil civilians in
1992 in the village of Mailanthani in Batticaloa district was transferred to
the Colombo High Court in 1996. Many witnesses for the case live in
displaced persons camps, and could not come to court to give evidence. A
jury trial, which began in January, ended on November 25 when the security
forces were acquitted. At year's end, representatives of the victims were
requesting that the Attorney General appeal the jury's decision.
There were no developments in the January 2000 killing of
Tamil politician Kumar Ponnambalam.
Although former terrorist Tamil militant groups armed by and
aligned with the former PA Government committed extrajudicial killings in
the past, there were no credible reports of such killings during the year.
In the past, the military wing of the People's Liberation
Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and the Razeek group were responsible
for killing a number of persons; however, there were no reports of such
killings during the year. The security forces had armed and used these
militias and a number of other Tamil militant organizations to provide
information, to help identify LTTE terrorists, and, in some cases, to fight
in military operations against the terrorists. The exact size of these
militias was impossible to ascertain, but they probably totaled fewer than
2,000 persons. These groups were asked to disarm following the formal
February ceasefire agreement between the Government and LTTE. The militia
did hand over some weapons to the Government; however, most observers
believe that the groups kept some arms. Persons killed by these militants in
the past probably included LTTE operatives and civilians who failed to
comply with extortion demands.
There were no developments in the 2000 death of Jaffna media
correspondent Mayilvaganam Nimalarajan.
There were unconfirmed reports that the LTTE continued to
commit unlawful killings. Due to the inaccessibility of LTTE-controlled
areas and the LTTE's prevention of investigations by outside agencies, the
exact number and type of killings in LTTE-controlled areas is unknown. Some
observers believe that the amount of killings was reduced drastically last
year. Attacks by the LTTE killed civilians outside of LTTE-controlled areas
in the past; however, there were no such confirmed reports during the year.
In 2001 attacks and counter-attacks between government forces
and the LTTE occurred almost daily; however, there were no such attacks
during the year. There were two suicide bombing attacks attributed to the
LTTE during 2001, on September 15 and October 29, in addition to the July
attack on the airport north of Colombo (see Section 1.g.). There were no
reports of suicide bombings during the year. There were reports that the
LTTE committed unlawful killings, including lamppost killings in 2001 (see
Section 1.g.).
b. Disappearance
Unlike in previous years, there were no credible reports of
disappearances at the hands of the security forces.
In 2001 the army, navy, police, and paramilitary groups were
involved in as many as 10 disappearances, primarily in Vavuniya. Between
January and September 2001, the Human Rights Commission received 44 reports
of disappearances in Vavuniya alone. These cases were not confirmed. In
December 2000, eight Tamil civilians were reported missing in Mirusuvil. Two
SLA soldiers were identified as perpetrators and admitted to killing eight
of the civilians. The soldiers were punished administratively by the army
(see Sections 1.a. and 1.c.).
In February 2000, a fisherman seen arrested by naval personnel
near Trincomalee disappeared. During the year, the Trincomalee High Court
ordered a police line up; however, the witness did not identify any of the
suspects. At year's end, the High Court was conducting a habeas corpus
hearing in conjunction with the case.
Those who disappeared in 2001 and previous years usually are
presumed dead. The 2000 U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances lists the country as having an extremely large number of
"nonclarified" disappearances. The Commander of the Army and the Inspector
General of Police both criticized the disappearances and stated that the
perpetrators would be called to account. Although there have been few
prosecutions of security force personnel to date, during the year there were
numerous indictments and investigations, including the case against the
security forces involved in the Bindunuwewa massacre and the killings in
Mirusuvil.
The Attorney General's office successfully prosecuted 4 cases
by year's end involving members of the security forces on abduction and
murder charges. In November the Government formed a new commission to
investigate disappearances in Jaffna area during 1996 and 1997. The
commission was expected to begin work in 2003.
In 1999 the U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances made its third visit to the country. Its report, released in
December 1999 cited the PTA and ER as important factors contributing to
disappearances and recommended the abolition or modification of these laws
to bring them into conformity with internationally accepted human rights
standards. The ER was repealed in 2001 and there were no arrests under the
PTA during the year; however, some arrests were being made without proper
procedures and the Government had not all persons detained under the PTA in
previous years at year's end (see Section 1.d.). The reviewing process for
some cases still was ongoing at year�s end.
Tamil militias aligned with the former PA government also were
responsible for disappearances in past years; however, there were no reports
during the year. These militias detained persons at various locations that
in effect served as undeclared detention centers. The HRC had no mandate or
authority to enforce respect for human rights among these militia groups. It
was impossible to determine the exact number of victims because of the
secrecy with which these groups operated. During the year, the Government
took steps to disarm these militias as part of the peace process.
The LTTE was responsible for an undetermined number of
civilian disappearances in the north and east during the year. Although the
LTTE previously has denied taking any prisoners from its battles in January,
they released 10 citizens, including some soldiers, to the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). On September 28, the LTTE exchanged 7
soldiers in exchange for 13 LTTE cadre. At year's end, the LTTE was not
known to be holding any prisoners (see section 1.g.).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
Despite legal prohibitions, the security forces and police
continued to torture and mistreat persons in police custody and prisons. The
Convention Against Torture Act (CATA) made torture a punishable offense.
Under the CATA, torture is defined as a specific crime, the High Court has
jurisdiction over violations, and criminal conviction carries a 7-year
minimum sentence. However, according to a recent Amnesty International (AI)
report and press release, the CATA does not implement several provisions of
the U.N. Convention; this results in torture being prohibited under specific
circumstances but allowed under others. Consequently, torture continued with
relative impunity. In addition, the PTA makes confessions obtained under any
circumstance, including by torture, sufficient to hold a person until they
are brought to court. In some cases, the detention can extend for years.
Since 2000 the Government has been working on developing
regulations to prosecute and punish military and police personnel
responsible for torture. The Attorney General's Office and the Criminal
Investigation Unit have established units to focus on torture complaints;
the units forwarded 14 cases for indictments during the year. The
Interparliamentary Permanent Standing Committee and its Interministerial
Working Group on Human Rights Issues have begun tracking criminal
investigations of torture. In addition, the Government also ceased paying
fines incurred by security force personnel found guilty of torture. Security
force personnel have been fined under civil statutes for engaging in
torture. According to the Attorney General's Office, members of the security
forces and police have been prosecuted under criminal statutes, but none of
the cases had come to conclusion.
Members of the security forces continued to torture and
mistreat detainees and other prisoners, particularly during interrogation.
Methods of torture included electric shock, beatings, suspension by the
wrists or feet in contorted positions, burning, slamming testicles in desk
drawers, and near drowning. In other cases, victims must remain in unnatural
positions for extended periods or have bags laced with insecticide, chili
powder, or gasoline placed over their heads. Detainees have reported broken
bones and other serious injuries as a result of their mistreatment. There
were reports of rape in detention during the year. Medical examination of
persons arrested since 2000 continued to reveal multiple cases of torture.
In December 2000, the bodies of eight Tamils tortured and
killed by the army in Mirusuvil were exhumed after one person escaped and
notified authorities. Nine soldiers were arrested, and by year's end, a
trial had begun (see Sections 1.a. and 1.b.). The military also conducted
its own inquiry; the personnel involved were discharged.
On March 15, Thivyan Krishnasamy, a student leader and an
outspoken critic of the actions of security forces in Jaffna, was released
from custody. Human rights observers claim that he was arrested because of
his political activism, but the police stated that he was connected to the
LTTE. He was arrested in July 2001 and when he was brought before a court in
August he complained of being tortured. In response to his allegations of
torture, the Jaffna Student Union held protests during the fall of 2001. In
response university administrators temporarily closed the university to
avoid violence.
During 2001 there were a number of reports of women being
raped by security forces while in detention. One such case involved two
women arrested in March 2001 in Mannar who claimed that they were tortured
and repeatedly raped by naval and police personnel. The women were released
on bail in April 2001 and filed charges against their assailants. At year's
end, the 14 accused were standing trial for rape, torture, or both. A
fundamental rights case also was opened against the accused. Four other
cases in which the security forces are accused of raping women in detention
still were pending at year's end.
Under fundamental rights provisions in the Constitution,
torture victims may file civil suit for compensation in the high courts or
Supreme Court. Courts have granted awards ranging from approximately $175
(14,200 rupees) to $2,280 (182,500 rupees). However, most cases take 2 years
or more to move through the courts.
Impunity remained a problem. In the majority of cases in which
military personnel may have committed human rights abuses, the Government
has not identified those responsible or brought them to justice.
At the invitation of the Government, the U.N. Committee on
Torture sent a five-person mission to Colombo in 2000 to determine whether a
systematic pattern of torture exists in the country and, if so, to make
recommendations for eliminating the practice. In 2001 the mission had
submitted its confidential report to President Kumaratunga; however, by
year's end, the report had not been released to the public.
In the past, Tamil militants aligned with the former PA
government engaged in torture; however, there were no such reports during
the year.
The LTTE reportedly used torture on a routine basis.
Prison conditions generally were poor and did not meet
international standards because of overcrowding and lack of sanitary
facilities; however, the Government permitted visits by independent human
rights observers. The Government permitted representatives from the ICRC to
visit places of detention. The ICRC conducted 185 visits to 35 government
locations. The HRC also visited 681 police stations and more than 326
detention facilities by year's end (see Section 1.d.).
Conditions also reportedly were poor in LTTE-run detention
facilities. The IRCR conducted 8 visits in LTTE-controlled detention
facilities.
The LTTE permitted the ICRC to visit soldiers detained in the
Vavuniya region approximately once every 6 weeks until their release (see
Section 1.g.). Due to the release of detainees in 2000 and the apparent
release of the remaining soldiers held by the LTTE, ICRC visited fewer LTTE
detention centers than in previous years (see Section 1.d.).
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
In the past, arbitrary arrest and detention were problems;
however, there were no reports of arbitrary arrests or detentions during the
year. Under the law, authorities must inform an arrested person of the
reason for arrest and bring that person before a magistrate within 24 hours.
In practice, persons detained generally appear before a magistrate within a
few days of arrest. The magistrate may authorize bail or order continued
pretrial detention for up to three months or longer. Security forces must
issue an arrest receipt at the time of arrest, and despite some efforts by
the Government to enforce this standard, arrest receipts rarely were issued.
Observers believed that the lack of arrest receipts prevents adequate
tracking of cases, which permits extended detentions and torture without
making any persons directly responsible for those detainees.
Under the ER and the PTA, security forces could detain
suspects for extended periods of time without court approval. The ER, in
force periodically since 1979 and in force island-wide from August 1998
until July 2001, gave security forces broad powers to arrest and detain
without charge or the right to judicial review. ER provisions permitted
police to hold individuals for up to 90 days to investigate suspected
offenses, although the police had to present detainees to a court within 30
days to record the detention. The court was able to order a further 6
months' detention.
In past years, the army generally turned over those that it
arrested under the ER to the police within 24 hours, although the police and
the army did not always issue arrest receipts or notify the HRC within 48
hours. The HRC has a legal mandate to visit those arrested, and police
generally respected this. Due to censorship and infrequent access, observers
could not determine the state of affairs in LTTE-controlled areas.
In the past, there were credible reports that the military
held persons for short amounts of time in smaller camps for interrogation
before transferring them to declared places of detention; however, there
were no such reports during the year. This procedure, which allegedly
occurred on the Jaffna peninsula, in Vavuniya, and in the east (see Section
1.c.), did not comply with requirements to notify the HRC of arrests and to
issue arrest receipts. The military maintained the detainees were "in
transit," and claimed they did not violate the detainees' rights.
Unlike in previous years, there were no large-scale arrests of
Tamils during the year. In the past, many detentions occurred during
operations against the LTTE. Most detentions lasted a maximum of several
days although some extended to several months. As of September 1, 222 Tamils
charged under the PTA remained in detention without bail awaiting trial. As
part of the peace process' confidence building measures, the Government
released more than 750 Tamils arrested under the PTA during the first 8
months of the year.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of arbitrary
arrests or searches of residents. In previous years, Tamils complained that
they were abused verbally and held for extended periods at security
checkpoints throughout Colombo. During the week following the July 2001,
attack on Colombo's main airbase and international airport, security forces
detained hundreds of Tamils in the Colombo region for questioning. In
addition, those arrested sometimes were held in prisons with convicted
criminals. The vast majority of checkpoints were removed in January and the
reports of regular mistreatment by security forces largely ceased.
The Committee to Inquire into Undue Arrest and Harassment
(CIUAH), which includes senior opposition party and Tamil representatives,
examines complaints of arrest and harassment by security forces and takes
remedial action as needed. The Committee received more than 1,200 complaints
in 2001. Opinions on the effectiveness of the CIUAH were mixed. Some human
rights observers believe that the work of the committee deterred random
arrests and alleviated problems encountered by detainees and their families.
The role of the CIUAH diminished drastically during the year due to
peace-process related improvements.
The HRC investigated the legality of detention in cases
referred to it by the Supreme Court and private citizens. Although the HRC
is legally mandated to exercise oversight over arrests and detentions by the
security forces and to undertake visits to prisons, members of the security
forces sometimes violated the regulations and failed to cooperate with the
HRC.
The Government continued to give the ICRC unhindered access to
approximately 160 detention centers, police stations, and army camps
recognized officially as places of detention. Due to the lapsing of the ER
in July 2001, the total number of persons detained in military bases at any
one time has been reduced dramatically, with the military making fewer
arrests and transferring detainees to police facilities more quickly than in
previous years. With the ceasefire agreement, the number of arrests by the
military has dramatically declined.
The EPDP reportedly detained its own members for short periods
in Jaffna as punishment for breaking party discipline. Unlike in previous
years, there were no reports of the PLOTE continuing to run places of
illegal detention in Vavuniya.
The LTTE in the past has detained civilians, often holding
them for ransom. There were reports of this practice during the year, such
as the multiple reports of kidnaping of Muslim businessmen in Batticaloa
area, particularly during the first 4 months of the year. Reports indicate
that the LTTE demanded anywhere from a few hundred dollars to upwards of
$10,415 (1,000,000 Rupees) for their release. At year's end, all the Muslim
businessmen reportedly had been released.
The Government does not practice forced exile, and there are
no legal provisions allowing its use.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and
the Government generally respected this provision in practice.
The President appoints judges to the Supreme Court, the courts
of appeal, and the high courts. A judicial service commission, composed of
the Chief Justice and two Supreme Court judges, appoints, transfers, and
dismisses lower court judges. Judges serve until the mandatory retirement
age of 65 for the Supreme Court and 62 for other courts. Judges can be
removed for reasons of misbehavior or physical or mental incapacity, but
only after a legal investigation followed by joint action of the President
and the Parliament.
In criminal cases, juries try defendants in public. Defendants
are informed of the charges and evidence against them, and may be
represented by the counsel of their choice, have the right to appeal. The
Government provides counsel for indigent persons tried on criminal charges
in the high courts and the courts of appeal, but it does not provide counsel
in other cases. Private legal aid organizations assist some defendants. In
addition, the Ministry of Justice operates 11 community legal aid centers to
assist those who cannot afford representation and to serve as educational
resources for local communities. However, these legal aid centers had tried
no cases by the end of September. There are no jury trials in cases brought
under the PTA. Confessions, obtained by various coercive means, including
torture, are inadmissible in criminal proceedings, but are allowed in PTA
cases. Defendants bear the burden of proof to show that their confessions
were obtained by coercion. Defendants in PTA cases have the right to appeal.
Subject to judicial review in certain cases, defendants can spend up to 18
months in prison on administrative order waiting for their cases to be
heard. Once their cases come to trial, decisions are made relatively
quickly. During the year, more than 750 PTA cases were dropped and the
prisoners released.
Most court proceedings in Colombo and the south are conducted
in English or Sinhala, which, due to a shortage of court-appointed
interpreters, has restricted the ability of Tamil-speaking defendants to get
a fair hearing. Trials and hearings in the north and east are in Tamil and
English, but many serious cases, including those having to do with
terrorism, are tried in Colombo. While Tamil-speaking judges exist at the
magistrate level, only four high court judges, an appeals court judge, and a
Supreme Court justice speak fluent Tamil. Few legal textbooks and only one
law report exist in Tamil, and the Government has complied only slowly with
legislation requiring publishing all laws in English, Sinhala, and Tamil.
In the past in Jaffna, LTTE threats against court officials
sometimes disrupted normal court operations. Although the Jaffna high court
suspended activities due to security concerns in 2000, it reopened in 2001
and still was functioning at year's end. During the year, the LTTE expanded
the operations of its court system into areas previously under the
government's judicial system in the north and east. With the expansion, the
LTTE demanded all Tamil civilians stop using the governments judicial system
and only rely on the LTTE's legal system. Credible reports indicated that
the LTTE has implemented the change through the threat of force.
The LTTE has its own self-described court system, composed of
judges with little or no legal training. The courts operate without codified
or defined legal authority and essentially operate as agents of the LTTE
rather than as an independent judiciary. The courts reportedly impose severe
punishments, including execution.
The Government claims that all persons held under the PTA are
suspected members of the LTTE and therefore are legitimate security threats.
Insufficient information exists to verify this claim and to determine
whether these detainees are political prisoners. In many cases, human rights
monitors question the legitimacy of the criminal charges brought against
these persons. More than 750 PTA cases were dismissed by the Attorney
General by September 1. The Attorney General's office expected a few more of
the 222 remaining cases to be dismissed at year's end. The Government
claimed that the cases that remained only will be of those individuals
directly linked to suicide bombings or other terrorist and criminal acts.
The LTTE also reportedly holds a number of political
prisoners. The number is impossible to determine because of the secretive
nature of the organization. The LTTE refuses to allow the ICRC access to
these prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The Constitution provides for the right to privacy, and the
Government generally respected this provision in practice; however, it
infringed on citizen's privacy rights in some areas. The police obtained
proper warrants for arrests and searches conducted under ordinary law;
however, the security forces were not required to obtain warrants for
searches conducted either under the now lapsed ER or the PTA. The Secretary
of the Ministry of Defense was responsible for providing oversight for such
searches. Some Tamils complained that their homes were searched as a means
of general harassment by the security forces. The Government was believed to
monitor telephone conversations and correspondence on a selective basis.
However, there were no reports of such activity by security forces during
the year.
On September 4, taking into account the fast progress of the
peace process, the Government legalized the LTTE.
The LTTE routinely invaded the privacy of citizens, by
maintaining an effective network of informants. The LTTE also forcibly
recruited children during the year (see Section 6.d.). During August and
September, the LTTE handed over 85 children to UNICEF, stating that the
children had volunteered to serve, but that the LTTE does not accept
children (see Section 6.d.). Unlike in the previous year, there were no
reports that the LTTE expelled Muslims from their homes.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law
in Internal Conflicts
Hostilities between the Government and the LTTE abated with
the announcement of unilateral ceasefires in December 2001, followed by a
formal ceasefire accord agreed to in February. Subsequently, a number of
prisoners have been exchanged and the key road connecting Jaffna has been
opened. The reconciliation also has led to a sharp reduction in roadblocks
and checkpoints around the country, the return of approximately 150,000 IDPs
to their points of origin in the north and east, and to the opening of
numerous investigations into actions by security force personnel.
On April 29, in Nilaveli, on the east coast, naval personnel
opened fire and injured two Tamil women. The circumstances surrounding the
incident remained unclear at year's end. The investigation into the incident
remained open. On October 10, seven civilians were killed when security
force personnel fired into a crowd storming their compound in the east. Some
observers claimed the security forces used excessive force in repelling a
peaceful crowd that was demonstrating against the alleged harassment of LTTE
cadre earlier in the day. Others claim the security forces were justified in
repelling what appeared to be a LTTE-instigated attack.
In 2001 an estimated 2,000 combatants and 100 civilians were
killed in conflict-related incidents. Unlike in previous years, there were
no reports that the airforce carried out a bombing campaign.
In the past, the Government often publicized aspects of its
planned operations to allow civilians time to vacate the probable areas to
be affected. However, in 2001, the armed forces did not give public warnings
before the commencement of operations.
Investigations into the May 2000 incident in which a bomb
exploded at a Buddhist temple in Batticaloa concluded in 2001. After the
bomb exploded, security forces reportedly opened fire, killing four children
and injuring eight more. The Government maintained that the evidence and
interviews of witnesses do not support those claims. No arrests have been
made to date, and the incident no longer was under investigation.
In November 2001, the SLA created the Directorate of Human
Rights and Humanitarian Law in the army. The directorate is charged with
coordinating all human rights activities for the army from ICRC training
classes (see Section 4) to overseeing the human rights cells that are
assigned throughout the military. The SLA also states that all of its
personnel have completed the appropriate training and pledged to adhere to
the "rules of international Humanitarian Law." Early in the year, the air
force and navy instituted similar programs. The armed forces operated under
written rules of engagement that severely restricted the shelling,
bombardment, or other use of firepower against civilian-occupied areas.
The Government continued to provide food relief, through the
Commissioner General for Essential Services (CGES) and the Multi-Purpose
Cooperative Societies (MCPS), to displaced and other needy citizens,
including those in areas controlled by the LTTE. The Government delivered
food rations to the Vanni area through a checkpoint that is controlled on
one side by the security forces and on the other by the LTTE. The border
into the territory controlled by the LTTE was not closed during the year.
In previous years, NGOs and other groups that sought to take
controlled items to LTTE-controlled areas in the Vanni region needed
permission from local officials as well as from the Ministry of Defense.
Delays were common and approval sometimes was denied. As a result, many
medical items in the Vanni region and Jaffna were in short supply, which
contributed to a deterioration in the quality and quantity of medical care
furnished to the civilian population. Previous restrictions on the transport
of items such as cement, batteries, and currency into the LTTE-controlled
areas no longer were no in effect during the year.
The Ministry of Defense reported capturing several LTTE
terrorists with weapons in government-controlled areas in direct
contradiction of the terms of the ceasefire agreement. The Government
reportedly returned most LTTE personnel directly to the closest LTTE
checkpoint; however, some were detained for longer periods. Previously the
military sent the cadre they captured or who surrendered to rehabilitation
centers. The ICRC continued to visit former LTTE members in government
rehabilitation camps, although the October 2000 massacre of more than 20
such detainees at a government-run detention facility at Bindunuwewa, near
Bandarawella, led observers to question the continued security of residents
of these facilities (see Sections 1.a. and 1.g.).
In view of the scale of hostilities in previous years and the
large number of LTTE casualties, some observers have found the number of
prisoners taken under battlefield conditions to be low and have concluded
that many LTTE fighters apparently were killed rather than taken prisoner.
Some observers believed that, on the government side, an unwritten
"take-no-prisoners" policy had been in effect. The military denied this
claim, stating that other factors limited the number of prisoners taken,
such as the LTTE's efforts to remove injured fighters from the battlefield,
the proclivity of its fighters to choose suicide over capture, and the
LTTE's occasional practice of killing its own badly injured fighters. There
were no reports of security forces personnel executing LTTE cadres during
the year.
In previous years, the Government refused to permit relief
organizations to provide medical attention to injured LTTE fighters,
although it has offered to treat any LTTE injured entrusted to government
care. According to credible reports, injured LTTE cadres surrendering to the
Government received appropriate medical care.
The LTTE admitted that in the past it killed security forces
personnel rather than take them prisoner. Past eyewitness accounts confirm
that the LTTE has executed injured soldiers on the battlefield. At year's
end, the LTTE reportedly had released all security force personnel they were
holding. The LTTE is believed to have killed most of the police officers and
security force personnel captured in the past few years. In January the LTTE
unilaterally released 10 citizens including some soldiers. On September 28,
the LTTE released 7 prisoners in exchange for the release of 13 of their
cadres.
The LTTE used excessive force in the war. During the year, the
LTTE engaged in hostage taking, hijackings, and forcible recruitment,
including of children.
In July 2001, the LTTE attacked Colombo's main airbase and
international airport. During the attack, the LTTE destroyed six military
and four civilian aircraft. The LTTE also damaged the civilian airport.
In the past, the LTTE regularly was accused of killing
civilians. For example, the LTTE was accused of killing four Sinhalese
villagers at Wahalkada village in March 2001, and killing a Tamil civilian
and injuring 15 others in Trincomalee in June 2001.
The LTTE uses child soldiers. In October four children ranging in age from 15
to 17 years surrendered to a local church near Trincomalee after escaping
from the LTTE. According to Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, the international
monitors received approximately 600 complaints about child abductions since
early March, and credible sources say those children are recruited to be
child soldiers. Credible sources reported increased LTTE recruitment,
including recruitment of children during the year.
The LTTE expropriates food, fuel, and other items meant for
IDPs, thus exacerbating the plight of such persons in LTTE-controlled areas.
Malnutrition remained a problem in LTTE-controlled areas as well as in other
parts of the Vanni region, with nutrition levels falling below the national
average. Experts have reported a high rate of anemia and a low birth rate,
both of which indicate lower levels of nutrition. Confirmed cases of
malnutrition included hundreds of children. However, a survey completed by
Medecins Sans Frontieres in 1999 found malnutrition levels in the
war-affected areas at about the same level as in the war-free south of the
country.
Landmines were a problem in Jaffna and the Vanni and to some
extent in the east (see Section 5). Landmines, booby traps, and unexploded
ordnance pose a problem to resettlement of displaced persons and rebuilding.
A U.N. landmine team tasked with locating and mapping LTTE and army mines in
the Jaffna peninsula suspended its mission in 2000 stating that it was
impossible to continue as long as hostilities continued. At year's end, a
U.N. team had begun coordinating the process of mapping the mined areas in
the country and established oversite for a mine removal program. During the
year, the Sri Lankan Military and the LTTE removed mines in areas they
controlled. During the year, the government reported four mine-related
casualties among civilians per month. In August 2001, a civilian bus
travelling to Trincomalee hit a land mine injuring 30 of its passengers. In
September 2001, a vehicle carrying a family hit a mine approximately 5
kilometers north of Jaffna, killing all six passengers and the driver.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the
press, and the Government generally respected these rights in practice. In
the past, the Government restricted these rights in practice, often using
national security grounds permitted by law; however, there were no reports
of such practices during the year. During the year, criminal defamation
laws, which had often been used by the Government to intimidate independent
media outlets, were eliminated. In 2001 the Government officially lifted the
censorship on war reporting. However, even when no specific government
censorship is exercised, private television stations impose their own,
informal censorship on international television news rebroadcast in the
country.
The Government controls the country's largest newspaper chain,
two major television stations, and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation
(SLBC). There are a variety of independent, privately owned newspapers,
journals, and radio and television stations, most of which freely criticize
the Government and its policies. The Government imposes no political
restrictions on the establishment of new media enterprises.
The President officially eased censorship restrictions on
foreign journalists in a circular published in June 2000; however, material
for publication or broadcast within the country, regardless of author,
remained subject to government approval until the repeal of censorship laws
in June 2001. Claims of harassment and intimidation of private media by the
government continue. In November Paul Harris, a foreign national and a
journalist loosely affiliated with the "Daily Telegraph" was denied a visa
extension, allegedly for violation of the terms of his visa. Speculation in
the press is that the denial was based on political pressure because of Mr.
Harris' criticism of the Government and the LTTE. Multiple organizations,
including the Editor's Guild of Sri Lanka, the Free Media Movement, the
Foreign Correspondents Association of Sri Lanka, and the President's office
have criticized the decision as an infringement on freedom of the press.
Human rights observers commented that in the past Tamils from
the north or east who criticized the Sri Lankan military and Government
often were harassed and sometimes arrested. They cite the case of Thiviyan
Krishnasamy, a student leader in Jaffna and critic of the military in the
Jaffna area. He was arrested in July 2001 and released in March (see Section
1.c.).
In September 2000, police arrested a young man for criticizing
the president on a radio call-in show. Police traced the call to discover
the caller's address. The young man's parents alleged that he had a mental
illness and could not be held responsible for his comments. At year's end,
the young man was released and the case was dismissed.
In 2000 police detained two persons for questioning in
connection with the 1999 murder of Rohana Kumara, editor of a
Sinhala-language newspaper that had been critical of leading figures in the
ruling coalition. By year's end, no one had been charged in connection with
the case.
No action was taken, nor is any likely, into the following:
The 1999 killing of editor Ramesh Nadarajah, and the 1999 abduction of a
journalist by an army brigadier. On February 9, two airforce personnel were
given lengthy jail sentences for the February 1998 killing of a journalist
who regularly reported on defense matters, including corruption in military
procurements. At year's end, the airforce personnel were released on bail
pending conclusion of the appeals process.
During the year, the defamation laws were repealed and all
cases pertaining to the defamation laws were dropped.
The Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance (SLTMA) was formed in 1999
to protect the interests of Tamil journalists, who allege that they are
subject to harassment and intimidation by Tamil paramilitary groups and Sri
Lankan security forces. Regional Tamil correspondents working in the war
zones have complained of arbitrary arrest and detention in the past and
difficulty in obtaining press accreditation. The SLTMA has filed cases on
behalf of Tamil journalists, but its cases have not yet succeeded in the
courts.
Unlike in the previous year, travel by local and foreign
journalists to conflict areas was not restricted. The LTTE does not tolerate
freedom of expression. It tightly restricts the print and broadcast media in
areas under its control. The LTTE has killed those reporting and publishing
on human rights.
The Government did not restrict access to the Internet.
The Government did not restrict academic freedom.
The LTTE restricted academic freedom, and it has repressed and
killed intellectuals who criticize it, most notably the moderate and widely
respected Tamil politician and academic, Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam, who was
killed by a suicide bomber in July 1999. The LTTE also has severely
repressed members of human rights organizations, such as the University
Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR), and other groups. Many former members of
the UTHR have been killed.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The law provides for freedom of assembly and association, and
the Government generally respected these rights in practice. Although the
PTA may be used to restrict this freedom, the Government did not use the act
for that purpose during the year. Numerous peaceful political and
nonpolitical rallies were held throughout the country during the year.
In July 2001, the opposition held a rally that the Government
claimed was illegal under the 1981 Referendum Act, which essentially states
that rallies and demonstrations of a political nature cannot be held when a
referendum is scheduled. Security forces killed two persons when the
Government confronted the rally with force, prompting further
demonstrations. However, the Government generally grants permits for
demonstrations, including those by opposition parties and minority groups.
On October 9, eight Tamil civilians were killed by Special
Task Force police during a protest in Akkaraipattu. Police and the
commission tasked with investigating the incident claim that the crowd was
trying to forcefully enter the police compound and the police were defending
themselves. Tamils have disputed this finding, asserting that the protest
was peaceful. In April 2001, a violent clash between the Sinhalese and
Muslim communities occurred in Mawanella. The Muslim community protested
alleged police inaction concerning the assault on a Muslim store clerk. In
response, a group of Sinhalese attacked the Muslim protesters. As the
conflict escalated, two Muslims were killed and scores of buildings and a
few vehicles were destroyed. Police reportedly did nothing to stop the
destruction of Muslim property. The investigation into the Mawanella
incident remained open at year's end.
The LTTE does not allow freedom of association in the areas
that it controls. The LTTE reportedly has used coercion to make persons
attend rallies that it sponsors. On the Jaffna Peninsula, the LTTE
occasionally has posted in public places the names of Tamil civilians
accused of associating with security forces and other Government entities.
The LTTE has killed Tamil civilians who have cooperated with the security
forces in establishing a civil administration in Jaffna under a political
leadership elected freely and fairly in January 1998.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution accords Buddhism a foremost position, but it
also provides for the right of members of other faiths to practice their
religions freely, and the Government generally respected this right in
practice. Despite the special status afforded by the Constitution to
Buddhism, major religious festivals of all faiths are celebrated as public
holidays.
Foreign clergy may work in the country, but the Government has
sought to limit the number of foreign religious workers given temporary work
permits. Permission usually is restricted to denominations registered with
the Government. The Government has prohibited the entry of new foreign
clergy on a permanent basis. It permitted those already in the country to
remain.
Some evangelical Christians have expressed concern that their
efforts at proselytizing often meet with hostility and harassment from the
local Buddhist clergy and others opposed to their work. In April two
Christians were physically assaulted by a Buddhist monk. Evangelicals
sometimes complain that the Government tacitly condones such harassment, but
there is no evidence to support this claim.
In April 2001, a Muslim cashier was attacked by 4 Sinhalese.
When the Muslim community protested police inaction, the Muslim persons were
confronted by rioting Sinhalese, and 2 Muslims were killed. The police
investigation into this incident remains open and no arrests have been
reported.
The LTTE expelled virtually the entire Muslim population from
their homes in the northern part of the island in 1990. Most of these
persons remain displaced. During the year, the LTTE leadership has met with
the leaders of the Muslim community on their incorporation into the peace
process. In the past, the LTTE has expropriated Muslim homes, land, and
businesses and threatened Muslim families with death if they attempt to
return. The LTTE has made some conciliatory statements to the Muslim
community, but the statements are viewed with skepticism by some Muslims.
In September a group of Christians vandalized a Jehovah's
witness hall, breaking windows, ripping through electrical systems, and
burning equipment used to establish a new hall in Negombo. Witnesses claimed
that the police did not react to the disturbance until after the crowd
dispersed.
The LTTE attacked Buddhist sites, most notably the historic
Dalada Maligawa or "Temple of the Tooth," the holiest Buddhist shrine in the
country, in Kandy in January 1998. In May 2000, an LTTE bombing near a
temple at the Buddhist Vesak festival in Batticaloa killed 23 persons and
injured dozens of others.
The LTTE has been accused in the past of using church and
temple compounds, where civilians were instructed by the Government to
congregate in the event of hostilities, as shields for the storage of
munitions.
For a more detailed discussion see the 2002 International
Religious Freedom Report.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution grants every citizen "freedom of movement and
of choosing his residence" and "freedom to return to [the country]," and the
Government generally respected the right to domestic and foreign travel.
However, in the past, the war with the LTTE prompted the Government to
impose more stringent checks on travelers from the north and the east and on
movement in Colombo, particularly after dark. Tamils had to obtain police
passes to move freely in the north and east, and frequently they were
harassed at checkpoints throughout the country. These security measures had
the effect of restricting the movement of Tamils.
However, during the year, the Government lifted a majority of
the travel restrictions within the country. Areas near military bases and
high security zones still have limited access. Some observers claim the high
security zones are excessive and unfairly claim Tamil lands, particularly in
Jaffna. The LTTE limited travel on the road connecting Jaffna in the north
to the rest of the country; however, in April the Government lifted all of
its restrictions on travel to Jaffna.
Fighting between Government and the LTTE has displaced
hundreds of thousands of persons, with many displaced multiple times as
front lines shifted. The UNHCR reports that there are less than 600,000 IDPs
in country. Since September 2000, 172,000 IDPs have been living in welfare
centers ranging from camps, where conditions vary considerably, to
settlements with a full range of government social services and food aid. By
the end of 2001, an estimated 500,000 to 800,000 IDPs, including those in
the Vanni, had registered for government food aid, and were receiving
medicine and other essential supplies from the Government. However, by
year's end, more than 220,000 IDPs returned to points of origin in country,
with more than half of the returnees transited to points in Jaffna District.
The Government has sought to resettle the displaced when
possible and has arranged for a number of those from Jaffna to return to
their homes. Over the years, the Government, in cooperation with the UNHCR,
built permanent housing for 18,000 Muslims in the Puttalam area. An
additional one-time resettlement program relocated 1,000 families by the end
of 2001.
The LTTE has discriminated against Muslims, and in 1990
expelled some 46,000 Muslim inhabitants--virtually the entire Muslim
population--from their homes in areas under LTTE control in the northern
part of the island. Most of these persons remain displaced and live in or
near welfare centers. There were credible reports that the LTTE has warned
thousands of Muslims displaced from the Mannar area not to return to their
homes until the conflict is over. However, it appeared that these attacks by
the LTTE were not targeted against persons due to their religious beliefs,
rather, it appeared that they were part of an overall strategy to clear the
north and east of persons not sympathetic to the cause of an independent
Tamil state. During the year, the LTTE has invited the Muslim IDPs to return
home, asserting they will not be harmed. Although some Muslim IDPs have
begun returning home, the vast majority have not and were instead waiting
for a guarantee from the government for their safety in LTTE-controlled
areas.
Between October 1996 and the end of 1999, more than 150,000
persons moved out of LTTE-controlled regions through Vavuniya and other
transit points into government controlled regions. Of these, more than
100,000 reached Jaffna and other Tamil-majority areas. Many had left the
Vanni region with the intention of proceeding south; they opted for other
destinations only after learning that they would have to remain in transit
camps until security clearances for southward travel were obtained.
Obtaining a clearance could take up to 4 months in some cases, and some
human rights groups alleged that the procedures were arbitrary and
unreasonably strict. The Government restricted the movement of displaced
Tamils due to possible security, economic, and social concerns. These
restrictions have been lifted with the onset of the peace process.
The LTTE occasionally disrupts the flow of persons exiting the
Vanni region through the two established and legal checkpoints. In
particular the LTTE taxes civilians travelling through areas it controls. In
the past, the LTTE disrupted the movement of IDPs from Trincomalee to Jaffna
by hijacking or attacking civilian shipping, although there were no such
reports this year. Humanitarian groups estimate that more than 200,000 IDPs
live in LTTE-controlled areas (see Section 1.g.).
An estimated 65,000 Tamil refugees live in camps in Tamil Nadu
in Southern India. Approximately 100,000 refugees may have integrated into
Tamil society in India over the years. UNHCR reports that a small number may
have returned from India during the year.
The law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee
status in accordance with the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The Government cooperates with the office of
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations
in assisting refugees. The issue of the provision of first asylum did not
arise during the year. The Government does not permit the entry of refugees
into the country or grant first asylum, nor does it aid those who manage to
enter to seek permanent residence elsewhere. There were no reports of the
forced return of persons to a country where they feared persecution.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercise this right in practice
through periodic, free, fair, and multiparty elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage; however, recent elections have been marred by violence
and some irregularities. The country is a longstanding democratic republic
with an active multiparty system. Power is shared between the popularly
elected President and the 225-member Parliament. The right to change the
government was exercised in the December 2001 parliamentary elections in
which the United National Front, a coalition of parties led by the UNP, won
a majority in Parliament for the next 6-year period. Fearing possible
infiltration by the LTTE, the Government prohibited more than 40,000 Tamil
voters from LTTE controlled territories from crossing army checkpoints to
vote.
Following the December 2001 elections, the UNP and its allies
formed the new Government. The president's party, the PA, is now the
opposition in Parliament. The UNP, led by Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe, has formed the new Government and filled the positions in
the cabinet. Cohabitation ties between the President and Prime Minister have
been difficult.
The President suspended Parliament from July to September 2001
out of concern that her coalition had lost its majority in Parliament
because of defections. The suspension of Parliament angered opposition
parties, which sponsored numerous demonstrations. One of these
demonstrations, ended with the deaths of two marchers killed by security
forces (see Section 2.b.). After further defections from her coalition, the
President dissolved Parliament in October 2001, and called for elections to
take place in December 2001.
In December 2001, 12 supporters of the Sri Lankan Muslim
Congress were killed, apparently by hired thugs of a PA candidate. Former PA
MP Anuruddha Ratwatte and his two sons have been indicted for conspiracy. In
addition, 15 others, including security force personnel, were indicted for
their alleged involvement in the murders. The trial continued at year's end.
Despite an extremely violent campaign, including credible reports on the use
of intimidation by both of the major parties, voter turnout exceeded 70
percent. The People's Alliance for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL)
reported 755 incidents of violence and 49 deaths; the Center for Monitoring
Election Violence (CMEV) reported 4,208 incidents, and 73 deaths; and the
police reported 2,247 incidents, and 45 deaths during the year.
In September 2001, the Parliament passed the 17th Amendment,
which established an independent Commission on Elections (among other
commissions), which is to be tasked with ensuring free and fair elections;
however, implementing legislation has yet to be passed.
A delegation from the European Union monitoring the election
expressed concern about violence and irregularities in the voting, but
concluded that the election "did to a reasonable degree reflect the will of
the electorate."
The Commissioner of Elections recognized 46 parties at the
time of general elections in October 2000; only 13 parties actually held
seats in the 225-member Parliament elected during 2001. The two most
influential parties, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (the principal component
party of the governing PA coalition) and the UNP, generally draw their
support from the majority Sinhalese community. These two parties have
alternated in power since independence.
There are 9 women in the 225 Parliament. There was one in the
73 member Cabinet and the Supreme Court. In December 1999, a woman was
elected President for a second term. One woman (Minister of Women's Affairs)
was appointed to the new cabinet formed after the December 5 elections.
There are 28 Tamil and 21 Muslim persons in the 225 member
Parliament elected in December 2001. The Parliament elected in October 2000
had 23 Tamil and 22 Muslim members.
The LTTE refuses to allow elections in areas under its
control, although it did not oppose campaigning by certain Tamil parties in
the east during the December 2001 parliamentary elections. In previous
years, the LTTE effectively had undermined the functioning of local
government bodies in Jaffna through a campaign of killing and intimidation.
This campaign included the killing of 2 of Jaffna's mayors and death threats
against members of the 17 local councils. During the period of the conflict,
the LTTE killed popularly elected politicians, including those elected by
Tamils in areas the LTTE claimed as part of a Tamil homeland.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
Several domestic human rights NGOs, including the Consortium
of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA), the University Teachers for Human Rights,
Jaffna (UTHR-J), the Civil Rights Movement (CRM), and the Law and Society
Trust (LST), monitor civil and political liberties. There are no adverse
regulations governing the activities of local and foreign NGOs, although the
Government officially requires NGOs to include action plans and detailed
descriptions of funding sources as part of its registration process. Some
NGO workers have seen this as an attempt by the Government to exert greater
control over the NGO sector after previous human rights groups criticisms.
Few NGOs complied with these new reporting requirements. A number of
domestic and international human rights groups generally operate without
government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human
rights cases. Government officials are cooperative and responsive to their
views.
The Government allowed the ICRC unrestricted access to
detention facilities (see Sections 1.c. and 1.d.). The ICRC provides
international humanitarian law training materials and training to the
security forces. The UNHCR, the ICRC, and a variety of international NGOs
assisted in the delivery of medical and other essential supplies to the
Vanni area (see Section 1.g.).
In the first 6 months of the year, the HRC conducted more than
600 visits to police stations and more than 300 visits to detention
facilities. The HRC has more than 4,500 cases of alleged human rights abuse
pending. The Commission's investigation into the allegations by former Lance
Corporal Rajapakse about mass graves at Chemmani in Jaffna resulted in
exhumations in 1999 that provided the basis for the ongoing case (see
Section 1.a.). Nonetheless, some human rights observers believed that the
work of the HRC was hampered by a lack of strong leadership; however, over
the past year, many human rights observers recognized that the new leader of
the HRC was willing to confront other branches of the Government on human
rights problems and new standard procedures. Activists have expressed some
satisfaction with the new leadership's prompt investigation into the
November 2000 Bindunuwewu massacre.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
The Constitution provides for equal rights under the law for
all citizens, and the Government generally respected these rights. The
Supreme Court regularly upholds court rulings in cases in which individuals
file suit over the abridgment of their fundamental civil rights. The HRC and
the CIUAH are other mechanisms that the Government has established to ensure
enforcement of constitutional provisions in addition to access to the courts
(see Section 1.d.).
Women
Sexual assault, rape, and spousal abuse (often associated with
alcohol abuse) continued to be serious and pervasive problems. Amendments to
the Penal Code introduced in 1995 specifically addressed sexual abuse and
exploitation and modified rape laws to create a more equitable burden of
proof and to make punishments more stringent. Marital rape is considered an
offense in cases of spouses living under judicial separation, and laws
govern sexual molestation and sexual harassment in the workplace. While the
Penal Code may ease some of the problems faced by victims of sexual assault,
many women's organizations believe that greater sensitization of police and
judicial officials is required. The Government set up the Bureau for the
Protection of Children and Women within the police in 1994 to respond to
calls for greater awareness and attention; however, there was no information
on any actions taken by the Bureau nor on the number of crimes against
women.
In the previous year, police reported 500 rape case
investigations. From January 1 to October 1, the police have reported a
total of 865 rape investigations in country, and 29 involve security force
personnel. In 2001 there were a number of reports of security forces raping
women in custody (see Section 1.c.). During the year, there was one such
report. There have been no convictions in the cases involving security force
personnel.
Although laws against procuring and trafficking were
strengthened in 1995, trafficking in women for the purpose of forced labor
occurs (see Sections 6.f.).
The Constitution provides for equal employment opportunities
in the public sector. However, women have no legal protection against
discrimination in the private sector where they sometimes are paid less than
men for equal work, often experience difficulty in rising to supervisory
positions, and face sexual harassment. Women constitute approximately
one-half of the formal work force.
Women have equal rights under national, civil, and criminal
law. However, questions related to family law, including divorce, child
custody, and inheritance, are adjudicated by the customary law of each
ethnic or religious group. The minimum age of marriage for women was 18
years, except in the case of Muslims, who continue to follow their customary
marriage practices. The application of different legal practices based on
membership in a religious or ethnic group often results in discrimination
against women.
Children
The Government is committed to protecting the welfare and
rights of children, but is constrained by a lack of resources. The
Government demonstrated this commitment through its extensive systems of
public education and medical care. The law requires children between the
ages of 5 and 14 to attend school. Approximately 85 percent of children
under the age of 16 attend school. Education was free through the university
level. Health care, including immunization, also was free.
In the period from January 1 to October, the police recorded
613 cases of pedophilia, compared with 767 cases of crimes against children
for January 2001 to August 2001. Many NGOs attribute the problem of
exploitation of children to the lack of law enforcement rather than adequate
legislation. Many law enforcement resources were diverted to the conflict
with the LTTE, although the police's Bureau for the Protection of Children
and Women conducts investigations into crimes against these two groups. In
September the police opened an office to work directly with the National
Child Protection Authority (NCPA) on children's issues to support NCPA
investigations into crimes against children and to arrest suspects based on
those investigations.
Under the law, the definition of child abuse includes all acts
of sexual violence against, trafficking in, and cruelty to children. The law
also prohibits the use of children in exploitative labor or illegal
activities or in any act contrary to compulsory education regulations. The
legislation further widened the definition of child abuse to include the
involvement of children in war. The NCPA is comprised of representatives
from the education, medical, retired police, and legal professions; it
reports directly to the President.
The Government has pushed for greater international
cooperation to bring those guilty of pedophilia to justice. The penalty for
pedophilia is not less than 5 years and up to 20 years as well as an
unspecified fine. Four cases of pedophilia were brought to court in 2000,
one involving a foreigner. Two cases were brought to court during the year;
however, in both cases the accused fled the country. There were few reported
arrests for pedophilia during the year, but there were no convictions.
Child prostitution is a problem in certain coastal resort
areas. The Government estimates that there are more than 2,000 active child
prostitutes in the country, but private groups claim that the number is much
higher (see Section 6.f.). The bulk of child sexual abuse in the form of
child prostitution is committed by citizens; however, some child prostitutes
are boys who cater to foreign tourists. Some of these children are forced
into prostitution (see Section 6.f.).
The LTTE uses child soldiers and recruits children, sometimes
forcibly, for use in battlefield support functions and in combat. LTTE
recruits, some as young as 13, have surrendered to the military, and
credible reports indicate the LTTE has stepped up recruiting efforts (see
Section 1.g.). In May 1998, the LTTE gave assurances to the Special
Representative of the U.N. Secretary General for Children in Armed Combat
that it would not recruit children under the age of 17. The LTTE has not
honored this pledge, and even after the ceasefire agreement there were
multiple credible reports of the LTTE forcibly recruiting children (see
Section 6.d.).
Persons with Disabilities
There was some discrimination against persons with
disabilities in employment, education, or in the provision of other state
services. The law does not mandate access to buildings for persons with
disabilities. The World Health Organization estimates that 7 percent of the
population was persons with disabilities. Most persons with disabilities,
who are unable to work, were cared for by their families. The Department of
Social Services operated eight vocational training schools for persons with
physical and mental disabilities and sponsored a program of job training and
placement for graduates. The Government also provided some financial support
to NGOs that assist persons with disabilities; subsidized prosthetic devices
and other medical aids for persons with disabilities; make some purchases
from suppliers with disabilities; and has registered 74 schools and training
institutions for persons with disabilities run by NGOs. The Department of
Social Services has selected job placement officers to help the estimated
200,000 work-eligible persons with disabilities find jobs. In spite of these
efforts, persons with disabilities still face difficulties because of
negative attitudes and societal discrimination. The law forbidding
discrimination against any person on the grounds of disability. No cases
were known to have been filed under this law.
Indigenous People
The country's indigenous people, known as Veddas, number fewer
than l,000. Some prefer to maintain their isolated traditional way of life,
and they are protected by the Constitution. There are no legal restrictions
on their participation in the political or economic life of the nation. In
1998 the Government fulfilled a long-standing Vedda demand when the
President issued an order granting Veddas the right to hunt and gather in
specific protected forest areas. The executive order granted the Veddas the
freedom to protect their culture and to carry on their traditional way of
life without hindrance. Under a pilot program, Veddas received special
identity cards to enable their use of these forest areas. Some Veddas still
complain that they are being pushed off of their land.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
There were approximately one million Tamils of comparatively
recent Indian origin, the so-called "tea estate" Tamils or "Indian" Tamils,
whose ancestors originally were brought to the country in the 19th century
to work on plantations. Approximately 75,000 of these persons do not qualify
for either Indian or Sri Lankan citizenship and face discrimination,
especially in the allocation of government funds for education. Without
national identity cards, they also were vulnerable to arrest by the security
forces. However, the Government has stated that none of these persons would
be forced to depart the country. During 1999 the Government introduced a
program to begin registering these individuals; 15,300 tea estate Tamils
received identity cards between January and September 2001. Some critics
charged that the program did not progress fast enough.
Both Sri Lankan and "tea estate" Tamils maintained that they
long have suffered systematic discrimination in university education,
government employment, and in other matters controlled by the Government.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Government respects the constitutional right of workers to
establish unions, and the country has a strong trade union tradition. Any
seven workers may form a union, adopt a charter, elect leaders, and
publicize their views; however, in practice such rights can be subject to
administrative delays, and unofficially are discouraged. Nonetheless,
approximately 25 percent of the 6.7 million person work force nationwide and
more than 70 percent of the plantation work force, which is overwhelmingly
Hill Tamil, is unionized. In total there were more than 1,000,000 union
members, 650,000 of whom were women. Approximately 20 percent of the
nonagricultural work force in the private sector was unionized. Unions
represent most workers in large private firms, but those in small-scale
agriculture and small businesses usually do not belong to unions. Public
sector employees are unionized at very high rates and are highly
politicized.
Most large unions are affiliated with political parties and
play a prominent role in the political process, though major unions in the
public sector are politically independent. More than 30 labor unions have
political affiliations, but there are also a small number of unaffiliated
unions, some of which have active leaders and a relatively large membership.
The Ministry of Labor registered 147 new unions and canceled the
registration of 155 others, bringing the total number of functioning unions
to 1,580. The Ministry of Labor is authorized by law to cancel the
registration of any union that does not submit an annual report. This
requirement was the only legal grounds for cancellation of registration.
This law is being implemented. Employers found guilty of such
discrimination must reinstate workers fired for union activities but may
transfer them to different locations.
During the year, the Government was cited by the ICFTU for
failure to observe an ILO convention. Unions may affiliate with
international bodies, and some have done so. The Ceylon Workers Congress,
composed exclusively of Hill Tamil plantation workers, is the only trade
union organization affiliated with the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions (ICFTU), although a new trade union in the Biyagama export
processing zone (EPZ) is affiliated with the Youth Forum of the ICFTU. No
national trade union center exists to centralize or facilitate contact with
international groups.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law provides for the right to collective bargaining;
however, very few companies practice it. Large firms may have employees in
as many as 60 different unions. In enterprises without unions, including
those in the EPZs, worker councils--composed of employees, employers and
often a public sector representative--generally provide the forums for labor
and management negotiation. The councils do not have the power to negotiate
binding contracts, and labor advocates have criticized them as ineffective.
In 1999 Parliament passed an amendment to the Industrial
Disputes Act to require employers to recognize trade unions and the right to
collective bargaining. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination.
All workers, other than civil servants and workers in
"essential" services, have the right to strike. By law workers may lodge
complaints with the Commissioner of Labor, a labor tribunal, or the Supreme
Court to protect their rights. These mechanisms were effective and new
reforms placed limits on the amount of time allowed to resolve arbitration
cases; however, there continued to be substantial backlog delays in the
resolution of cases. The Government periodically has controlled strikes by
declaring some industries essential under the ER (which lapsed in 2000). The
President retains the power to designate any industry as an essential
service. The ILO has pointed out to the Government that essential services
should be limited to services where an interruption would endanger the life,
personal safety, or health of the population.
Civil servants collectively may submit labor grievances to the
Public Service Commission, but they have no legal grounds to strike.
Nonetheless, government workers in the transportation, medical, educational,
power generation, financial, and port sectors have staged brief strikes and
other work actions in the past few years. There were numerous public sector
strikes during the year.
The law prohibits retribution against strikers in nonessential
sectors. Employers may dismiss workers only for disciplinary reasons, mainly
misconduct. Incompetence or low productivity were not grounds for dismissal.
Dismissed employees have a right to appeal their termination before a labor
tribunal.
There are approximately 110,000 workers employed in three
EPZs, a large percentage of them women. Under the law, workers in the EPZs
have the same rights to join unions as other workers. Few unions have formed
in the EPZs, partially because of severe restrictions on access by union
organizers to the zones. While the unionization rate in the rest of the
country is approximately 25 percent, the rate within the EPZs was only 10
percent. Labor representatives alleged that the Government's Board of
Investment, which manages the EPZs, including setting wages and working
conditions in the EPZs, has discouraged union activity. The short-term
nature of employment and relatively young workforce in the zones makes it
difficult to organize. Work councils in the EPZs are chaired by the
Government's Board of Investment (BOI) and only have the power to make
recommendations. Labor representatives also allege that the Labor
Commissioner, under BOI pressure, has failed to prosecute employers who
refuse to recognize or enter into collective bargaining with trade unions.
While employers in the EPZs generally offer higher wages and better working
conditions than employers elsewhere, workers face other concerns, such as
security, expensive but low quality boarding houses, and sexual harassment.
In most instances, wage boards establish minimum wages and conditions of
employment, except in the EPZs, where wages and work conditions are set by
the BOI.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Bonded Labor
The law prohibits forced or bonded labor; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. ILO Convention 105 was not ratified
yet by the end of September. The law does not prohibit forced or bonded
labor by children specifically, but government officials interpret it as
applying to persons of all ages (see Section 6.d.). There were credible
reports that some rural children were employed in debt bondage as domestic
servants in urban households, and there were numerous reports that some of
these children had been abused.
There were credible reports that some soldiers attached to an
army camp north of Batticaloa forced local villagers to build a wall around
the camp during 2000, and that they beat individuals who refused to comply.
The military apparently transferred the officer responsible for the forced
labor when the abuse was publicized.
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for
Employment
The law prohibits labor by children under 14 years of age, but
child labor is a problem and still exists in the informal sectors. The NCPA
combats the problem of child abuse, including unlawful child labor. The act
consolidated existing legislation that established what types of employment
are restricted for children, which age groups are affected. The Ministry of
Labor is the competent authority to set regulations and carry out
implementation, and monitoring. The minimum age for employment is 14,
although the law permits the employment of younger children by their parents
or guardians in limited work. The law permits the employment of persons from
the age of 14 for not more than one hour on any day before school. However,
the Trade Union Ordinance of 1935 allows membership only from the age of 16.
The law also permits employment in any school or institution for training
purposes. The Compulsory Attendance at Schools Act, which requires children
between the ages of 5 and 14 to attend school, has been in effect since
January 1998, although it still is being implemented. Despite legislation,
child labor still exists in the informal sector. A child activity survey
carried out in 1998 and 1999 by the Department of Census and Statistics
found almost 11,000 children between the ages of 5 and 14 working full time
and another 15,000 engaged in both economic activity and housekeeping. The
survey found 450,000 children employed by their families in seasonal
agricultural work.
Persons under age 16 may not be employed in any public
enterprise in which life or limb is endangered. There are no reports that
children are employed in the EPZs, the garment industry, or any other export
industry, although children sometimes are employed during harvest periods in
the plantation sectors and in nonplantation agriculture.
Many thousands of children were believed to be employed in
domestic service, although this situation is not regulated or documented. A
1997 study reported that child domestic servants are employed in 8.6 percent
of homes in the Southern Province. The same study reported that child
laborers in the domestic service sector often are deprived of an education.
Many child domestics reportedly are subjected to physical, sexual, and
emotional abuse.
Regular employment of children also occurs in the informal
sector and in family enterprises such as family farms, crafts, small trade
establishments, restaurants, and repair shops. Government inspections have
been unable to eliminate these forms of child labor (see Section 5),
although an awareness campaign coupled with the establishment of hot lines
for reporting child labor has led to an increase in the prosecutions
regarding child labor violations by the Labor Department. The Labor
Department reported 194 complaints regarding child labor in 2000, with 79 of
these cases withdrawn due to lack of evidence or faulty complaints. The
Department prosecuted 7 cases in 2000. In the first 8 months of the year,
the Labor Department reported 199 complaints, with 48 cases withdrawn and 40
prosecuted. According to the Ministry of Labor, there were 10 prosecutions
for child labor (below the age of 14) during 2000. Under legislation dating
from 1956, the maximum penalty for employing minors is about $12 (1,000
rupees), with a maximum jail term of 6 months.
Although forced or bonded labor by persons of any age is
prohibited by law, some rural children reportedly have served in debt
bondage (see Sections 5 and 6.c.).
The LTTE continued to use high school-age children for work as
cooks, messengers, and clerks. In some cases, the children reportedly help
build fortifications. In the past, children as young as age 10 were said to
be recruited and placed for 2 to 4 years in special schools that provided
them with a mixture of LTTE ideology and formal education. The LTTE uses
children as young as 13 years of age in battle, and children sometimes are
recruited forcibly into the LTTE (see Section 5). A program of compulsory
physical training, including mock military drills, for most of the
population of the areas that it controls, including for schoolchildren and
the aged reportedly still functions. According to LTTE spokesmen, this work
is meant to keep the population fit; however, it is believed widely that the
training was established to gain tighter control over the population and to
provide a base for recruiting fighters. Despite repeated claims to the
contrary by the LTTE, there were credible reports that the LTTE continued to
recruit forcibly children throughout the year. Individuals or small groups
of children intermittently turned themselves over to security forces or
religious leaders saying they had escaped LTTE training camps throughout the
year. During August and September, the LTTE handed over 85 children to
UNICEF, stating that the children had volunteered to serve, but that the
LTTE does not accept children.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The national minimum wage does not provide a decent standard
of living for a worker and family, but the vast majority of families have
more than one breadwinner. The Ministry of Labor effectively enforces the
minimum wage law for large companies through routine inspections; however,
staffing shortages prevent the department from effectively monitoring the
informal sector. While there is no universal national minimum wage,
approximately 40 wage boards set minimum wages and working conditions by
sector and industry. In 2001 minimum wage rates averaged approximately
$29.38 (2,625 rupees) per month in industry, commerce, and the service
sector. The rate was approximately $1.38 (104.53 rupees) per day in
agriculture. The minimum wage in the garment industry was $25.73 (2,300
rupees) per month.
Most permanent full-time workers are covered by laws that
prohibit them from regularly working more than 45 hours per week (a 5
1/2-day workweek). Overtime is limited to 60 hours per month under a recent
ruling. Labor organizers are concerned that the new legislation does not
include a provision for overtime to be done with the consent of the worker.
Such workers also receive 14 days of annual leave, 14 to 21 days of medical
leave, and approximately 20 local holidays each year. Maternity leave is
available for permanent and seasonal or part-time female workers. Several
laws protect the safety and health of industrial workers, but the Ministry
of Labor's small staff of inspectors is inadequate to enforce compliance
with the laws. Health and safety regulations do not meet international
standards. Workers have the statutory right to remove themselves from
situations that endanger their health, but many workers are unaware of, or
indifferent to, health risks, and fear that they would lose their jobs if
they removed themselves.
f. Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits trafficking in persons; however, Sri Lanka
is a country of origin and destination for trafficked persons, primarily
women and children for the purposes of forced labor, and for sexual
exploitation. Sri Lankan women travel to Middle Eastern countries to work as
domestics and some have reported being forced into domestic servitude and
sexual exploitation. A small number of Thai, Russian, and Chinese women have
been trafficked to Sri Lanka for purposes of sexual exploitation. Some Sri
Lankan children are trafficked internally to work as domestics and for
sexual exploitation. There were unconfirmed reports that boys were
trafficked to the Middle East as camel jockeys.
The law provide for penalties for trafficking in women
including imprisonment for 2 to 20 years, and a fine. For trafficking in
children, the law allows imprisonment of 5 to 20 years, and a fine.
Internal trafficking in male children was also a problem,
especially from areas bordering the northern and eastern provinces.
Protecting Environment and Children Everywhere (PEACE), a domestic NGO,
estimated that in 2001 there were at least 5,000 male children between the
ages of 8 and 15 years who were engaged as sex workers both at beach and
mountain resorts. Some of these children were forced into prostitution by
their parents or by organized crime (see Section 5). PEACE also reports that
an additional 7,000 young men aged 15 to 18 years are self-employed
prostitutes; however, some organizations believe the PEACE numbers to be
inflated.
The Government took action during 2001 to prepare a national
plan to combat the trafficking of children. The project was part of a
regional project funded by the ILO. On a local level, on October 1, the
police opened an office to work as part of the NCPA in children's issues,
including trafficking in children.
The country has a reputation as a destination for foreign
pedophiles. Officials believe that approximately 30 percent of the clients
were tourists and 70 percent are locals. The Government occasionally
prosecuted foreign pedophiles, and there have been some convictions; however
there were no such convictions during the year. Many NGOs attribute the
problem of child exploitation to a lack of law enforcement. There was
evidence of continuing, but reduced, international interest in Sri Lankan
children for the sex trade as evidenced in tourism by foreign pedophiles,
and in Internet sites featuring child pornography involving the country's
children.
The Government has undertaken several initiatives to provide
protection and services to victims of internal trafficking, including
supporting rehabilitation camps for victims. In addition, the Government has
initiated some awareness campaigns to educate women about the dangers of
trafficking; however, most of the campaigns are through local and
international NGOs and somewhat through the Bureau of Foreign employment.
