Misapplication of Section 3 of the ICCPR Act and Other Legal Provisions in relation to Commemoration Events
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) wrote to the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) in terms of its mandate under section 10(d) of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Act, No. 21 of 1996.
In its letter, the Commission recalled that in May 2024, it wrote to the Acting IGP’s predecessor regarding the practice of Sri Lanka Police with respect to commemoration events held in the North and East of Sri Lanka. The Commission was concerned by the misapplication of section 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Act, No. 56 of 2007 (ICCPR Act) to arrest persons who engaged in peaceful acts of remembrance including the staging of peaceful protests. It was also brought to the Commission’s notice that Sri Lanka Police endeavours to obtain temporary orders from magistrates in terms of section 106(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to prevent persons from engaging in the commemoration of Tamil deceased who perished during the armed conflict in 2009. The Commission recalled that, in November 2024, the newly elected government announced that it would not interfere with peaceful commemoration events. Yet Sri Lanka Police applied for court orders to prevent certain commemoration events, and some of these applications were dismissed.
Read More:
HRCSL Press Notice 16052025_English