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Dfat Country Information Report Sri Lanka DFAT COUNTRY INFORMATION REPORT SRI LANKA 23 May 2018 MAP This map is presented for information only. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade accepts no responsibility for errors or omission of any geographic feature. Nomenclature and territorial boundaries may not necessarily reflect Australian government policy. Provided by the Commonwealth of Australia under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. DFAT Country Information Report Sri Lanka 1 CONTENTS ACRONYMS 3 GLOSSARY 4 1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE 5 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 6 Recent History 6 Demography 6 Economic Overview 7 Political System 9 Human Rights Framework 10 Security Situation 11 3. REFUGEE CONVENTION CLAIMS 13 Race/Nationality 13 Religion 14 Political Opinion (Actual or imputed) 18 Groups of Interest 23 4. COMPLEMENTARY PROTECTION CLAIMS 32 Arbitrary Deprivation of Life 32 Death Penalty 33 Torture 34 Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 35 5. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS 37 State Protection 37 Internal Relocation 40 Treatment of Returnees 41 Documentation 43 Prevalence of Fraud 45 DFAT Country Information Report Sri Lanka 2 ACRONYMS BBS Bodu Bala Sena, an extremist Buddhist group CEFM Child, early and forced marriage CSD Civil Security Department CTF Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms GDP Gross Domestic Product IDAHOT International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia IDPs Internally Displaced Persons ITJP International Truth and Justice Project IOM International Organization for Migration HRCSL Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka LGBTI Lesbian, gay, bisexual, Transgender and Intersex LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam MMDA Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act NCEASL National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka NIC National Identity Card OISL Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation on Sri Lanka OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights OMP Office of Missing Persons PTA Prevention of Terrorism Act SLFP Sri Lanka Freedom Party SLMC Sri Lanka Muslim Congress SLPP Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party TNA Tamil National Alliance UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHRC United Nations Human Rights Council UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNP United National Party UPFA United People's Freedom Alliance DFAT Country Information Report Sri Lanka 3 GLOSSARY grama niladhari village officer sharia Islamic law Quazi a judge without formal legal training, who presides over a court in accordance with sharia law Terms used in this report high risk DFAT is aware of a strong pattern of incidents moderate risk DFAT is aware of sufficient incidents to suggest a pattern of behaviour low risk DFAT is aware of incidents but has insufficient evidence to conclude they form a pattern official discrimination 1. legal or regulatory measures applying to a particular group that impede access to state protection or services that are available to other sections of the population (examples might include but are not limited to difficulties in obtaining personal registrations or identity papers, difficulties in having papers recognised, arbitrary arrest and detention) 2. behaviour by state employees towards a particular group that impedes access to state protection or services otherwise available, including by failure to implement legislative or administrative measures societal discrimination 1. behaviour by members of society (including family members, employers or service providers) that impedes access by a particular group to goods or services normally available to other sections of society (examples could include but are not limited to refusal to rent property, refusal to sell goods or services, or employment discrimination) 2. ostracism or exclusion by members of society (including family, acquaintances, employers, colleagues or service providers). DFAT Country Information Report Sri Lanka 4 1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE 1.1 This Country Information Report has been prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for protection status determination purposes only. It provides DFAT’s best judgement and assessment at time of writing and is distinct from Australian Government policy with respect to Sri Lanka. 1.2 The report provides a general, rather than an exhaustive country overview. It has been prepared with regard to the current caseload for decision makers in Australia without reference to individual applications for protection visas. The report does not contain policy guidance for decision makers. 1.3 Ministerial Direction Number 56 of 21 June 2013 under s 499 of the Migration Act 1958 states that: Where the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has prepared a country information assessment expressly for protection status determination processes, and that assessment is available to the decision maker, the decision maker must take into account that assessment, where relevant, in making their decision. The decision maker is not precluded from considering other relevant information about the country. 1.4 This report is informed by DFAT’s on-the-ground knowledge and discussions with a range of sources in Sri Lanka. It takes into account relevant and credible open source reports, including those produced by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the US Department of State, the World Bank, the International Organization for Migration (IOM); those from relevant UN agencies, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the United Nations Development Programme; recognised human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International; Sri Lankan non-governmental organisations and reputable news organisations. Where DFAT does not refer to a specific source of a report or allegation, this may be to protect the source. 1.5 This updated Country Information Report replaces the previous DFAT report released on Sri Lanka published on 24 January 2017. DFAT Country Information Report Sri Lanka 5 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION RECENT HISTORY 2.1 Ceylon achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1948; in 1972, it became the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Historically, relations between Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil communities have been tense. Tamils received preferential treatment during British rule, including through employment and education advantages. Following independence, the balance shifted and successive Sinhalese-led governments introduced discriminatory policies, including making Sinhala the country’s only official language from 1956-1987, and restricting access to higher education for Tamils. These actions contributed to a sense of marginalisation in the Tamil community and led to calls, from the 1950s onwards, for a separate Tamil state, Tamil Eelam, in the north and east of Sri Lanka. 2.2 In July 1983, conflict broke out between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE – formed in the 1970s). In May 2009, the Sri Lankan government announced its military victory over the LTTE and complete territorial control over Sri Lanka. The long civil conflict displaced hundreds of thousands of people and killed tens of thousands of people on both sides. 2.3 The current president, Maithripala Sirisena, was elected in January 2015 on a platform of post- conflict reconciliation, transitional justice, good governance, anti-corruption and economic reform. Progress on these commitments has been slow, and the Sri Lankan public and other observers are increasingly uncertain that the coalition government will manage to deliver reform during the remainder of its political term. DEMOGRAPHY 2.4 Sri Lanka had a population of 21.2 million in 2017, growing at an annual rate of 1.1 per cent in 2016. Approximately 29 per cent of the population lives in the Western Province where Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, Colombo, and official capital, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte (a suburb of Colombo), are located. Five per cent of Sri Lankans live in the Northern Province, and 7.6 per cent in the Eastern Province. 2.5 Sri Lanka’s most recent census in 2012 estimated that 74.9 per cent of the population was ethnic Sinhalese, 15.4 per cent was Tamil, 9.2 per cent was Muslim or Moors, and 0.5 per cent were ‘others’. Over a quarter of the Tamil population (4.2 per cent of the total population) are of Indian origin and are known as Plantation Tamils, Hill Country Tamils or Up-Country Tamils. ‘Muslim’ in Sri Lanka describes both ethnicity and religion. Sinhalese and Tamil are the two official languages, with Tamil used mostly in the north and east. English is widely spoken. 2.6 Sri Lankans practise four major religions: Buddhism (70.2 per cent of the population, mostly Sinhalese in the Southern, Central and Eastern Provinces); Hinduism (12.6 per cent, mostly Tamils in the Northern Province); Islam (9.7 per cent, predominantly in the Eastern, Western and North-Western Provinces); and Roman Catholic and other Christian denominations (7.4 per cent, concentrated in the Western and North-Western Provinces). Fewer than 7,000 people claim membership of other religions. DFAT Country Information Report Sri Lanka 6 ECONOMIC OVERVIEW 2.7 The World Bank classifies Sri Lanka as a lower middle-income country. Real GDP growth in 2017 was 4.7 per cent. Gross national income per capita was approximately USD 3,800 in 2016. Sri
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