Human Rights means time lines...

As Convenor of the Task Force to expedite implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan, I submitted a report to the meeting this week of the Inter-Ministerial Committee. That Committee appointed our Task Force, and is mandated by Cabinet to implement the plan. Since public should be informed as to progress, here is some of what I reported -

A principal problem we have with implementation of the Human Rights Action Plan is that time lines are not taken seriously. Secondly, though most agencies attending meetings of the Task Force have been helpful, ensuring coordinated action is difficult, given that the Task Force has no mandate to ensure action. That might be done by the Inter-Ministerial Committee, but it may be difficult for even the Chair of that Committee to ensure action without gazette specifications.

Inter-Ministerial Committee

That the Inter-Ministerial Committee request the establishment of a Ministry for Human Rights. This should have premises and personnel, and is best entrusted to the Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee. However, if it is felt that Human Rights should come directly under the President, as is now evidently the case, there should be a Ministry headed by the President, with the Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee as his Deputy.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee should meet monthly, with a schedule before it of actions taken, and explanations for any delays.

Given the importance of public awareness of action in terms of the Plan, the website, which has now been launched, should be regularly updated.

As indicated was being considered when the LLRC Recommendations were first discussed at the Inter-Ministerial Committee, given that there is some overlap, the Ministry and the Inter-Ministerial Committee should take responsibility for ensuring action in areas where there is such overlap. While all sections in the NHRAP are of importance, given, particular attention should be paid to ensuring action with regard to areas in the LLRC Action Plan that overlap with those in the NHRAP.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Justice has noted areas in which responsibilities given to her Ministry belong elsewhere. Cabinet should adjust the Plan accordingly, after other Secretaries have been given an opportunity to point out such anomalies.

Where there are overlapping responsibilities, Cabinet should specify the agency they believe responsible, and indicate that that agency must take the lead in convening meetings, and ensuring action.

Land issues

Land questions are mentioned only in the section on Displaced Persons in the NHRAP, but they figure large in the LLRC Action Plan, and are a cause of great concern to members of all communities in the North and East.

Though the Secretary to the Ministry of Lands and his staff have been extremely helpful in drawing up proposals to expedite action, progress is slow. There are several reasons for this, but two in particular may require intervention of other agencies. The first is the Circular issued last year, which should by and large resolve many problems, but which has been challenged in Court.

The Secretary noted that there is general agreement about the amendments to the Circular that would make it generally acceptable, but a new draft has not been put forward to expedite the settlement of the cases. This should be treated as a matter of urgency.

Second, surveying of lands for the distribution of deeds takes time because of a lack of trained personnel. The Survey Department should treat this as a matter of urgency, and deploy teams headed by trained personnel, together with suitable trainees, to expedite the finalization of plans.

Another reason that causes delay is uncertainty in Divisional Secretariats about the instructions to be followed. For instance a Gazette Notification of 1989, forbidding reallocation of lands lying vacant because of conflict, is thought to prevail still, whereas the Ministry of Lands believes it has been superseded. It would be useful to clarify the position, and issue a new Circular that makes clear the provisions that now obtain.

Another problem is caused by delays in formally taking over lands required for official purposes. This can cause misunderstanding, especially when security concerns are involved.

While government must affirm the principle that acquisition of lands for national purposes, of which security is an essential component, is within the powers of government, minimizing such acquisitions and providing adequate compensation promptly is essential for such powers to prove acceptable.

Agencies involved in surveying lands to be acquired, and fixing compensation, should work expeditiously, and with sympathetic understanding of the needs of those who will be dispossessed. The Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee should set timelines in consultation with the Minister of Lands for issuing necessary instructions and ensuring their implementation by officials. This may require coordination with Provincial Ministries of Lands in some cases, and technical support from other agencies.

Prison reform

Though there is general agreement about the need for prison reform, to reduce the number of those remanded, and to promote rehabilitation rather than custodial sentencing, progress in this area has been slow. The gravity of the problem is apparent from recent riots in prisons.

One problem is the absence of a mechanism to ensure action by the Judiciary. Pleas for consultation with regard to sentencing have fallen on deaf ears, and efforts for instance of the Colombo University Centre for Human Rights to train judges on sentencing have been stymied.

Recommendation

Efforts must be made to ensure cooperation between the Judiciary and the Law Enforcement agencies of government, in particular the Ministry of Justice, the Attorney General’s Department and the Police, to reduce numbers in prison and promote rehabilitation.

A sense of responsibility must be inculcated in judges, with visits to prisons and remand homes being mandatory.

This is ideally supervised by the Higher Judiciary, but it needs to be included in job descriptions, or prescribed by law. Transparency should be ensured through requiring regular reports on the state of the prisons.