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Amend Convention Against Torture: ICJ

23 Oct 2011 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has urged the UN Committee against Torture to call on Sri Lankan authorities to amend the Convention against Torture Act to bring it in line with the definitions and obligations under the international Convention against Torture (CAT), the report says.

Specifying the steps that Sri Lanka must undertake to better fulfil its obligations under the CAT, the ICJ has also recommended the implementation of legal safeguards for persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency Regulations; the enactment of robust measures to ensure full fair trial guarantees; and the adoption of a comprehensive state policy on remedy and reparation for victims, including compensation and rehabilitation.

The recommendations were made in the ICJ’s submissions (dated October 20) to the United Nations Committee against Torture in anticipation of the upcoming examination of Sri Lanka’s combined Third and Fourth Periodic Report on November 8-9, 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The ICJ stated that it has forwarded the submission to the UN Committee “in the hope that its constructive criticism on the current deficiencies in the legal and regulatory regime relating to the prevention of torture will be addressed by the Government of Sri Lanka.”

The ICJ has also recommended the enactment of a Victims and Witness Protection Law which conforms to international standards.

Sri Lanka ratified the UN CAT in 1993, and enacted the Convention against Torture Act in 1994. (Ayesha Zuhair)

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Amend Convention Against Torture: ICJ

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