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European Parliament 2014-2019 Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia DSAS_PV (2016)1031 MISSION REPORT of the Interparliamentary meeting of 31 October - 3 November 2016 in Sri Lanka (Colombo, Trincomalee and Batticaloa) by Jean Lambert, Chair of the Delegation 01/12/2016 KA/am PV\1111396EN.docx PE593.040v01-00 EN United in diversity EN 8th EU/Sri Lanka Interparliamentary Meeting Overall assessment Since January 2015 and the defeat of former President Rajapaksa, a number of positive developments have taken place and are undertaken by the government. This mission was a very timely one to get an impression of the state of play of the reforms undertaken so far. They are currently preparing the revision of the constitution, the reconciliation process has seen its first steps and there is an increasingly confident civil society which is scrutinising the entire process. On the economic side, Sri Lanka is committed to undertake the needed reforms to get the GSP + (Generalised Scheme of Preferences) status back, which is very important especially for the garment sector. In a long-term perspective, the ambition is to transform Sri Lanka into the gateway to the South Asian market, similar to Singapore today. They are currently negotiating Free Trade Agreements with China and Singapore which could be concluded early next year. While lots of reforms are planned (and vividly discussed) to advance Sri Lanka on its path to more democracy, a limited amount has been delivered so far by the unity government. The will of the government for change is certain, but difficult to put in practice against the fierce opposition of former President Rajapaksa’s followers and the fact that the whole administration, responsible for implementation of reforms, still remains nearly the same as before with a cautious appetite - if any - to embrace change. The corruption problem is still a significant issue. During its mission, the EP delegation held extensive discussions with a number of government and parliament representatives, including Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, the Northern and Eastern Provinces Chief Ministers, as well as different civil society organisations and UN representatives. The delegation visited EU-funded projects on counselling, resettlement of IDPs (internally displaced peoples), dairy production and waste management in Trincomalee and Batticaloa in the East. (cf reporting sheet). PV\1111396EN.docx 2/13 PE593.040v01-00 EN On reconciliation The process will be a very long one. The government is making efforts such as release of private and state land, but many of the interlocutors, especially during the field trip to the East, underlined that the process is by far too slow, the resettlement of IDPs is difficult and the ongoing presence of the military with its links to the local economy is still massively hampering the way towards normality in the East and the North, the most affected regions by the nearly three-decades long civil war. The Chief Minister of the North was very clear in his message saying that “the government has never given anything to the North if not forced”. Positively noted on reconciliation was the clear outreach of the government to the international community, which is illustrated in co-sponsorship of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution in Geneva in September 2015 that sets out a series of national reconciliation and other human rights commitments. The resolution proposes an architecture for a transitional justice process instituting good governance policies to reverse the increased power consolidation and corruption seen under the Rajapaksa administration. A key element in this regard was the 19th Constitutional Amendment shifting power away from the Executive and re-instating the Constitutional Council responsible for proposing independent appointments to key institutions such as the Human Rights Council and the Attorney-General and thereby facilitating the work of independent oversight commissions. But still a lot needs to be done to meet the UNHRC resolution providing a programme of national reconciliation. There are encouraging signs. The bill installing the Office of Missing Persons was passed by the parliament in August and was very positively commented on by the media and civil society. It is considered as a first step in a process including a Truth Commission, a reparations committee and a judicial mechanism for war crimes and human rights violations. Also the Prime Minister initiated an 11-Member task force composed by civil society to lead a public consultation on the expectations and how to best address the 4 mechanisms of the UNHRC resolution. This month they will provide a report to the Prime Minister. While they were positive about the initiative as such, they also had some concerns about non-distinction between the different concerns in the North and the South in the consultation as well as the fact that there were no victims included in this task force. The government has extended invitations to all UN Special Rapporteurs (SR), and after UNSG Ban Ki-Moon’s visit in September 2016, the SR responsible for transitional Justice was just in the country before the EP mission. These reports will feed into the first comprehensive report on the implementation of the resolution to be presented during the UNHCR March Plenary 2017. Also interesting to note that this first report coincides with the GSP+ decision being discussed in the EP. But as was underlined, to the Delegation all these reforms will have to be implemented against the backdrop of a lack of administrative capacity, a lack of coordination and the current weakness of the judicial instruments. PV\1111396EN.docx 3/13 PE593.040v01-00 EN Human rights / empowerment of women From the civil society, there are clear expectations towards the government on delicate issues such as war criminals, transitional justice and the need for truth on the past. While acknowledging that the climate has changed in comparison to the previous regime, they are stressing a lack of action, of coherence within action and of communication. This hampers the ownership process and brings the risk of alienation. At the same time, civil society also acknowledges that concerns brought forward from the North and the South are very different and they need to find a common strategy for articulation of their concerns. Torture and sexual violence still remain a concern, in the conflict areas as well as in the justice system. The UN representatives, while underlining the great opportunity on reconciliation with the current government also indicates a worrying increase in extremism, on different levels. In a recent UN peace building survey, 41 % of the participants admitted an open attitude towards violence. On the one hand, there is the nationalist movement linked to former President Rajapaksa and looking for reversal of the political situation. There are also ongoing tensions in the North. During their stay the delegation heard of massive demonstrations in Jaffna following the shooting by the police of two students in Jaffna under unclear circumstances. And on the other hand, religious violent extremism is increasing with the radicalisation of monks and the support to Daesh through a minority of the Maldivian community in Sri Lanka. There is a deeply embedded discrimination against women, which hits particularly the numerous female-headed households in the North and the East. The cabinet recently approved an action plan on gender equality which will now have to be implemented within Sri Lanka’s 25 districts. Also with regard to politics, there is a strong need for women’s empowerment, as it was already stated in the recommendations on the EOM on the parliamentary elections in 2015 (cf reporting sheet). While there is since recently a caucus of women in the parliament, out of 225 Members, only 13 are female Members. In this regard the delegation welcomed that the government took the initiative that very week to improve woman’s political empowerment by amending the Local Authorities Act to reserve at least 25% of political representation in local government for women. But still more needs to be done to ensure that women participate in an equal manner in public, economic and social life. On Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) & Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) The delegation underlined in its meetings that the PTA raises serious concerns, especially with regard to Sri Lanka’s GSP+ application. Under the current PTA, detention without charges is allowed for 18 months and arrests have still been taking place under this legislation. The government explained that they have prepared a draft white paper for a more inclusive approach, and the Prime Minister shared the draft with the EP delegation. At a first glance, this draft at the current stage does not address the concerns of the International Community and does not bring the new Counter Terrorism Law in line with the international standards. The delegation raised on multiple occasions the fact that in this regard the GSP+ negotiation could be affected if there is not an ambitious draft in line with international standards. A group of UN experts was due to arrive in Sri Lanka the week after our visit to discuss this and other legislation. As further delays are to be expected, this piece of controversial legislation - initially foreseen for January 2017 - might be in the Sri Lankan parliament at the same time as the EP is discussing the Sri Lankan application for GSP+. PV\1111396EN.docx 4/13 PE593.040v01-00 EN Also regarding the CPC, the delegation got assurance from the Prime Minister that a tabled proposal denying access to lawyers will be withdrawn. Indeed, the bill does not provide the right for access to a lawyer immediately following the arrest, while reports show that cases of torture may happen at that stage.

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