Landmark in Sri Lanka's work on anti-corruption

In remarks to the United Nations this week, a Sri Lankan anti-corruption official said the recent arrests of two senior government officials was an example of a new prosecutorial independence in Sri Lanka, Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption Sarath Jayamanne said.

“This not only demonstrated the independence of our body, but also the policy of non-interference,” he said. Jayamanne was speaking at the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

“These arrests marked a landmark in our work on anti-corruption, as this was the highest ranking official to have been arrested, while in office in 60 years,” he said.

Earlier this month, detectives arrested the President’s Chief of Staff I.H.K. Mahanama, and State Timber Corporation Chairman Piyadasa Dissanayake, on the charge of soliciting a bribe.

Jayamanne said the investigation was a direct result of new legal independence under the Constitution.

“The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka was one of the first steps taken by a new administration in 2015 stating their commitment to democracy, good governance, independence of the judiciary, and the rule of law,” he said. “This amendment established independent commissions namely: the Judicial Services, Police, Public Service, Human Rights, Elections, Finance, Audit and, of course the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption.”

In a separate panel, Chairman of the Special Presidential Task Force on Recovery of State Assets J. C. Weliamuna said that further reform was stalled, however, by retroactive elements held over from previous governments.

He proposed creating a U.N. Working Group to examine “post state capture” realities in relation to fragile governance structures and bureaucracies.

In a press release, the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the U.N. in New York said that Director General Jayamanne had met with John Brandolino, Director of the Division of Treaty Affairs of the UNODC, on the sidelines of the conference.

They agreed to hold a global meeting of experts in Colombo in July, “in recognition of the active role on anti-corruption played by Sri Lanka,” the Mission said.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted the Convention against Corruption in 2003, and it went into force two years later. Sri Lanka ratified it in 2004, one of the first states to do so.

The treaty requires countries to implement anti-corruption measures such as prevention, law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, technical assistance and information exchange.