This writer subscribes to the theory of radical humanism. Coloured by the acts of persons such as the Late Justice Krishan Iyer in India. He stood up for the poor and the underprivileged, and remained a human rights champion, a crusader for social justice and the environment, and a doyen of civil liberties, throughout his life. He played an important role in an era of judicial activism, public interest litigation, affirmative action though courts and a wide-ranging exercise of judicial review for which the Indian judiciary is hailed throughout the world today. Justice Iyer used to reiterate time and again a guiding principle that: The law of all laws is that the ‘rule of law’ must sustain the ‘rule of life'” by climbing down from its high pedestal, to ascertain ground realities for meeting the needs and aspirations of the people in an ever changing society.
In the early 1990s, the UN began promoting a novel idea: the creation and consolidation of independent NHRIs to facilitate the domestic implementation of international human rights law. In the 1991 Paris Principles, endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, the UN recommended that safeguards for NHRI independence be built into institutional mandates, specifying institutional design features required for an institution to function autonomously.
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) came into being in, 1997.It is the view of this writer we have not seen the full potential of the institution. The piece today is from a recent submission to the commission by this writer. They are beyond the usual complaints other than the matter related to the tree cutter. They constitute group rights including social and economic rights.
Children born outside marriages (follows on a letter to Chairman HRC January in 2021):
Background – Lowering the standards of education had been identified as the main reason for the increase of rape and child abuse. Among other reasons were, insecurity of children, popularity of the mobile phones with internet facilities among the youth, emergence of mentally imbalanced people due to use of cocaine and alcohol, increase of sexual misbehaviour within sub-cultures that has become prominent in the garment industrial sector and existence of a wrong impression among children and youth in society about the low level of education on sex.
* Mothers under 18 with no legal husband.
* Single parenting Mothers with no marriage having children.
* Children born due to trafficking and or sex trade.
* Mothers with multiple partners and multiple children
Issues:
* Consequence not having a father registered in the BC.
* There is a significant number of under 18 mothers in every Province.
* Protection, stigma.
Children in certified home
* Outside prisons children constitute the largest number of citizens kept away from parents.
* It is a violation of the Child Rights Convention, acceded by SL which provides an absolute right of a child claim parents unless exceptional circumstances prevent it.
Issues:
* Maintaining a database with vital socio economic data on children in certified homes.
* Is family reunification an objective?
* Are children supported to maintain contact with parents or guardians if any?
* Are educational records and their performance available?
* Can views of children on their hopes and aspirations be recorded?
* Can student counselling systematically be conducted in general and career guidance more specifically from age 15-18?
* Can sponsorship and or concessionary fees be considered for children in certified homes to access higher education?
Treatment and Rehabilitation of Drug Dependent” persons in the country
* The phenomenon of drug use is on the rise with Colombo district reporting the highest numbers.
* Relief is found in the Drug Dependent Persons (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act, No. 54 of 2007.
* A Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka inquiry (HRC/292/17/1-23) found 9155 persons in Prisons for periods between 1- 6 months due to inability to pay fines for drug related offences.
* Our Prisons are overcrowded and the population committed for drug related offences are on average upwards of 40% – 60% at any given time.
Issues:
* Draw attention of the Police Dept. to relevant provisions of the 2007 Act related to Compulsory admission to a Treatment Centre;
* Make widely known through mandated agencies avenues for Voluntary admissions AND
* Emphasize the vital functions of Magistrates in the committal, treatment and release of drug dependent persons in terms of the related provisions of the Drug Dependent Persons (Treatment and Rehabilitation) Act.
* Prevent users being prosecuted as possessors.
Did an innocent man suffer over Kadirgamar Assassination?
Issues:
* Go over the case record and potentially seek compensation for the surviving family members?
* Define a method whereby prisoners who are either in remand or have been sentenced wrongfully are legally protected?
* Compensation if proven as damages for wrongful detention and conviction.
* Muttiah Sahadevan, named a suspect in the assassination of foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, died in remand prison on June 22, 2019 and the Colombo high court concluded the related hearing.
* A daily wage earner, Sahadevan was arrested by the police after he cut down branches of a tree near a balcony of a house close to the Kadirgamar’s residence. It was said that the shooter had targeted the minister through a window near that balcony.
* Sahadevan had to spend 14 years behind bars. During his final years, Sahadevan suffered acutely from diabetes and had lost use of his kidneys.
* The 58-year-old resident of Kirulapone lived with his wife, Dhanalakshmi aged 57 years, and two children, who are married. He used to go to a house at Buller’s Road to do menial work for his living.
* On 13.08.2005, he was arrested by the CCD as he was returning with his wife from the Kirulapone fair. He was taken to the home of one Thalaisingham at Buller’s Road, and was asked if he cut down the branches of a tree close to the balcony of the house. He admitted having done that, with Thalaisingham saying Sahadevan had done that on his instructions. Sahadevan had been used to cut down branches of this Pihimbiya tree every 1 1/2 month or so, and he found nothing unusual about it. However, he was taken to the CCD, where he spent three months, after which was remanded. He was charged before the Colombo high court of having conspired and aided in the Kadirgamar assassination.
Methsevana
* Women found homeless or on the street are detained under the Vagrance Ordinance at Methsevana. A majority become psychiatric patients.
Issues:
* Inmates with No date Cases, Victims of sexual abuse and Patients (Psychiatric).
* It is not an offence to be poor or homeless.
* No date cases- area wise details, details of cases with no specified period of detention submitted to JSC seeking assigning of a Magistrate to visit Meth Sevana regularly to look into cases OR to hear all cases at Gangodawila MC,
* Inmates qualified to be freed – study each person’s background, design support for life post release prior to applying to Courts for release AND assess support for victims of sexual abuse.
* Advocate with NIMH immediate in- patient care for the acute cases with psychiatric illnesses and for the maintenance henceforth of all women with such illnesses in a specialised medical facility.
* Request MoJ to explain status of Vagrance Ordinance.
State Land Grants
* The GoSL has a policy to allocate state land as grants. Many hold state land on lease. For example out of 401,000 families in the Northern Province 118,000 qualify for such grants.
Issues:
* DS with GN and provincial development officers need to verify current use.
* Survey Dept. with assistance of Provinces and DS survey land lots.
* DS has to with support of provinces enter data online of recipients.
* Dept. of Lands needs to process and issue title.
* This a right. HRC should appear on behalf of the citizens and direct provision of the required services by the GoSL entities.
Poverty, Alleviation and Rural Development
* Every Province has Depts. for Industries, Rural development, Cooperatives along with Women Rural Development Societies.
* Several Divisional Secretaries have smart development models without seeking funds.
* HRC should summon the relevant stakeholders for a deliberation to address Poverty, Alleviation and Rural Development.
Jeevan Thiagarajah