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Our Neighbours -- Sri Lanka
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Complaint procedures by
Sri Lanka Police
Asian Legal
Resource Centre -- ALRC
ALRC-PL-29-2004
Monday, 5th April 2004
For more information, please contact:
In Hong Kong, Sanjeewa Liyanage: + (852) - 2698-6339
Statement on 'The role of the National Police Commission of Sri Lanka in
establishing an effective complaint procedure against police' received
by Commission on Human Rights
(Geneva, 5 April 2004) -- The written statement of the Asian Legal
Resource Centre (ALRC) on 'The role of the National Police Commission of
Sri Lanka in establishing an effective complaint procedure against
police' (E/CN.4/2004/NGO/47) was distributed on the 31st March 2004 at
the 60th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in
Geneva.
The full text of the statement follows.
This year, ALRC submitted 30 written statements to the Commission, on
topics as diverse as caste discrimination in Nepal, food scarcity in
Myanmar, custodial deaths and torture in India, extrajudicial killings
in Thailand, policing in Pakistan, the National Human Rights Commission
of Sri Lanka, and impunity in Asia.
The complete list of statements, with full texts and links to the
original versions, can be viewed on the ALRC website, at http://www.alrc.net/mainfile.php/60written/.
Asian Legal Resource Centre -- ALRC, Hong Kong
The role of the National Police Commission of Sri Lanka in establishing
an effective complaint procedure against police
1. In its concluding observations after considering the periodic report
of Sri Lanka, dated November 2003, the Human Rights Committee stated
that, "The National Police Commission complaints procedure should be
implemented as soon as possible" (CCPR/CO/79/LKA [Future]).
2. The National Police Commission (NPC) was appointed at the end of
2002, to a warm public welcome. It was created by the 17th Amendment to
the Constitution of Sri Lanka, which aims to depoliticize important
national institutions by appointing commissions with constitutional
powers over appointments, promotions, dismissals and disciplinary
control of employees. The NPC enjoys all such powers, except in relation
to the Inspector General of Police. Article 155G2 requires that the NPC
establish a procedure for entertaining, investigating and redressing
complaints against police personnel and the police service. The Asian
Legal Resource Centre has provided the NPC with a draft complaint
procedure for its consideration, and understands that this draft is
under review.
3. An effective complaint procedure requires clear written steps and
practical measures for it to take effect. In its absence, the NPC
initially had to refer complaints to the Inspector General of Police,
who in turn referred the cases to his subordinate officers, or to a
special investigation unit. As this involved police officers
investigating other police officers, the procedure lacked credibility.
Furthermore, the higher ranking officers who earlier oversaw the conduct
of such inquiries are accustomed to making settlements between
complainants and alleged perpetrators rather than conducting inquiries
in an objective manner. Most complainants were rightly fearful and
distrustful of these inquiries. As an interim measure, the NPC has
selected and appointed about ten area coordinators to deal with
complaints. Until they can establish independent premises, these persons
are stationed at the area offices of the National Human Rights
Commission.
4. It is claimed that the NPC still does not have adequate resources.
While the government has a duty to provide such resources, the proper
functioning of an effective complaint mechanism is a separate matter.
Proper investigations are obstructed by widespread impunity, which has
deep roots in the country's history that have spread since the early
1970s, when draconian powers were given to law enforcement officers on
the pretext of curbing dissident elements. The police force in Sri Lanka
has been engaged in mass enforced disappearances, torture and
extrajudicial killings. To date it is this lifting of disciplinary
procedures to make such impunity operative that remains the single
biggest problem for policing in Sri Lanka.
5. To deal with this problem, the NPC will have to create a strong
disciplinary procedure and enforce it. At the moment, hundreds of police
officers—including senior police officers—who have been found by the
Supreme Court to have violated the rights of citizens by way of torture,
illegal arrest and illegal detention are still serving. Despite
trenchant public criticism of this situation, there has to date been no
serious attempt to deal with it. In several recent cases the Supreme
Court has ordered the NPC to hold disciplinary inquiries. The Court also
has pointed to the responsibility of higher-ranking officers to enforce
discipline and prevent human rights violations by their subordinates.
Notwithstanding, the police persist in committing grave abuses, and the
manner with which they are dealt has not significantly changed.
6. The NPC needs to inculcate in the police force a serious
understanding of the gravity of offences such as torture, extrajudicial
killing and enforced disappearance. A clear disciplinary code is also
urgently required, and should be included in any training programme for
police. If such steps are taken they may begin a dramatic—albeit
difficult—change within the police force, forcing it to decisively
abandon past practices. Without an effective operating complaint
procedure, however, no such change can ever be expected.
7. The above recommendation of the Human Rights Committee should be
complied with as soon as possible. The Committee has required the
Government of Sri Lanka to report on this and several other matters
within a year. The Asian Legal Resource Centre sincerely hopes that the
NPC will make every effort to establish an effective complaint procedure
within this time.
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