‘Revise Anti-Terrorism Bill’ call by UN human rights office

The UN human rights office has urged the Sri Lankan authorities to revise the Anti-Terrorism Bill and to bring it fully into line with the island’s international human rights obligations.

In a statement, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) raised deep concerns about the proposed Bill, which is currently being considered in the Sri Lankan parliament to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Although repealing the PTA should be a turning point for meaningful reform of Sri Lanka’s approach to its internal security, the OHCHR said this proposed law instead risks perpetuating patterns of violations from the past.

The Anti-Terrorism Bill is substantially identical to its previous drafts that were withdrawn after widespread criticism, the UN human rights office pointed out, noting that it defines acts of “terrorism” overly broadly, restricts the scope of judicial guarantees, especially for challenging the lawfulness of detention orders, and curtails the ability of the Human Rights Commission to visit places of detention, among other problematic provisions.