| The State Department web site below is a permanent electronic archive of information released prior to January 20, 2001. Please see www.state.gov for material released since President George W. Bush took office on that date. This site is not updated so external links may no longer function. Contact us with any questions about finding information. NOTE: External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein. |
TITLE: SRI LANKA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STAT
DATE: FEBRUARY 1995
SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka is a constitutional republic with an active
multiparty system. In generally free and fair elections in
August, the People's Alliance (PA) coalition ended 17 years of
control of Parliament by the United National Party (UNP), and
Chandrika Kumaratunga, the daughter of two former prime
ministers, became Prime Minister.
A conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an organization fighting for a separate
state for the country's Tamil minority, continued into its
eleventh year. However, the new Government initiated a
dialogue with the LTTE, the first since 1990.
The Government controls all the security forces. The 50,000
member police force is responsible for internal security in
most areas of the country, and the 80,000 member army conducts
the war against the LTTE insurgents. The Home Guards, a
paramilitary force of some 1,000 members, provides security for
Muslim and Sinhalese communities in or near the war zone. The
Government also equips various Tamil militias opposed to the
LTTE. The security forces committed significantly fewer human
rights abuses in 1994, although some human rights violations
still occurred.
The economy is based on the export of tea, textiles, and
rubber. Despite a costly social welfare system and a large
fiscal deficit, the economy grew by 6.9 percent in 1993, due in
part to continued economic reform, the continued privatization
of government corporations, and increased foreign trade.
The Government took important steps to improve its human rights
practices. However, torture remains a serious abuse and is
practiced by both government and LTTE forces. Both sides used
excessive force in their ongoing conflict. Many abuses were
reported in LTTE-controlled areas, but there is little
information available to verify them. Discrimination and
violence against women and child prostitution continue to be
problems.
In positive developments, political and extrajudicial killings
and disappearances virtually ended in government-controlled
areas. Three regional commissions were established to
investigate disappearances. The Government began to prosecute
current and past violators of human rights.
The overall human rights performance of the military and the
police improved significantly. The new Government lifted the
Emergency Regulations in most parts of the island, a move that
reestablished the authority of the judiciary and the right of
individuals to a fair, public trial. In accordance with a
commitment made to the United Nations Human Rights Commission
(UNHRC), the Government eliminated restrictions on the freedoms
of speech, press, and association in the Emergency Regulations
remaining in force. Eighty percent of those held in long-term
security force detention were released during the course of the
year. The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which gives
security forces wide powers of preventive and incommunicado
detention, remained in effect though little used.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no known extrajudicial killings committed by the
security forces or groups allied with the Government. For the
second year there were no reprisal massacres against Tamil
civilians by the security forces. For the third consecutive
year, there were no known killings by vigilante groups.
However, there were 10 suspicious deaths, mostly involving
detainees acting as informants for security forces who died
during operational missions against the LTTE. There was
insufficient information to determine responsibility for these
deaths.
At least 25 people were killed preceding the parliamentary
elections in August. The violence was apparently caused by
individuals and did not appear to be an organized attempt by
poltical parties to intimidate voters. The Government has
prosecuted the alleged perpetrators. Among those arrested and
charged for murder was a deputy minister in the new Government.
During the presidential election campaign, a suicide bomber
killed the United National Party's candidate Gamini Dissanayake
and 58 other people. The LTTE was the primary suspect in the
bombing; however, at year's end, the Government's investigating
team had not assigned blame. Eight other persons were killed
in incidents preceding the presidential election in November.
The new Government sought to bring to justice the perpetrators
of extrajudicial killings from previous years. It prosecuted
suspects in several extrajudicial killings and brought charges
against several members of the security forces and its own
political supporters.
Reversing a much-criticized action taken in 1993, the new
Government relocated the Mailanthani trial, in which 21
soldiers were accused of massacring 35 Tamil civilians in 1992,
to Batticaloa, a Tamil majority town. It formally indicted the
soldiers and scheduled their trials for 1995.
Government forensic experts resumed their investigation of a
mass grave at Sooriyakanda, containing an estimated 300
bodies. The Government also started to investigate newly
discovered graves, including one at Ankumbura which may contain
the bodies of 36 persons killed by the police in 1989.
In October the Government indicted 4 police officers for the
1990 murders of 12 civilians in Wavulkelle; the trial is
scheduled for 1995. The Government also took legal action
against several army personnel who attacked 80 villagers,
killing one, in March in Batticaloa district.
The new Government lifted the Emergency Regulations from most
of the country, a move that made the concealment of
extrajudicial killings and disappearances by government forces
more difficult. However, the Regulations remained in force in
areas directly affected by the insurgency. In these areas, the
Government revised the Regulations to require security forces
to report the deaths of detainees to a magistrate, who in turn
who is required to order a post mortem.
The LTTE continued to commit extrajudicial killings. LTTE
cadres killed a candidate in local government elections in the
Eastern Province and also killed several suspected government
informants. In March, LTTE guerillas abducted and killed 22
fishermen off the coast of Puttalam District, and killed
several more fishermen in the same area in August. In
September the LTTE assassinated a leader of an anti-LTTE Tamil
group in Batticaloa District, and are believed to have killed
several opponents in the Jaffna District. In the past, the
LTTE has killed university professors, members of nonviolent
Tamil opposition parties, and human rights monitors.
LTTE violence was not restricted to Sri Lanka. In May LTTE
agents killed Sabalingam Sabaratnam, an LTTE opponent, and four
other Tamils in Paris.
b. Disappearance
There were 10 confirmed disappearances in 1994, compared to 98
in 1993, 210 in 1992, and an average 15 a day in 1990. Those
who disappeared in 1994 and in previous years are presumed
dead. The disappearances involved persons last seen in police
custody; all occured in the first half of the year. The
Commander of the Army and the Inspector General of Police both
issued directives condemning the disappearances and stating
that perpetrators would be called to account. However, at
year's end the Government had not identified or charged those
responsible for the 1994 disappearances.
The new Government started investigations into past
disappearances. In November it established three regional
commissions to inquire into disappearances occuring after
January 1, 1988. Meanwhile the Presidential Commission of
Inquiry into the Involuntary Removal of Persons continued to
work slowly on disappearances that occurred after January
1991. So far the Commission has completed work on only 70 of
the 694 cases under its mandate. However, the number of
complaints received by the Commission continued to decline. In
1994 the Commission received 10 complaints, compared with 63 in
1993, 181 in 1992, and 725 in 1991.
Also in November, Parliament enacted the Registration of Deaths
Bill. This legislation allows the next-of-kin to apply to the
district registrar of deaths for a death certificate of a
relative reported missing and presumed to be dead, or who has
not been heard from for more than a year.
The new Government indicted 11 suspects, including an army
brigadier general, in the disappearance of 32 boys from the
southern town of Embilipitiya in 1989 and 1990. The Government
charged the suspects with abduction with intent to commit
murder and conspiracy to abduct with intent to commit murder.
However, at year's end the Government had taken no legal action
in the Vantharamulle case, in which Army troops reportedly
abducted 158 persons from a refugee camp in Batticaloa district
in 1990. Observers maintain that there is credible evidence
identifying the alleged perpetrators.
The Government continued to give the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) unhindered access to detention centers,
police stations, and army camps. This played a role in
stopping disappearances attributable to the security forces, as
did the work of the Human Rights Task Force (HRTF), a
quasi-independent government body set up to register detainees
held under the Emergency Regulations and the PTA and monitor
their welfare.
The LTTE was responsible for an undetermined number of civilian
disappearances in the northeastern part of the island. Most of
the 400 to 600 police officers captured by the LTTE in 1990 are
believed to be dead, as are over 200 security force personnel
caputured at a battle in Pooneryn in 1993. The LTTE
acknowledges holding only 30 security force personnel.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Security forces continued to torture and mistreat detainees and
other prisoners, particularly during interrogation, although
the number of torture reports was somewhat lower than in
previous years. Most victims were LTTE supporters or advocates
of the Sinhalese Janatha Vimukhti Peramunk (JVP), a former
Maoist party which led an insurgency in the southern part of
the island. The Government suppressed that insurgency in
1988-89.
Methods of torture included beatings, especially on the soles
of the feet, suspension by the wrists or feet in contorted
positions, burning, near drownings, placing of insecticide or
gasoline-filled bags over the head, and forced positions, e.g.,
prolonged standing. Detainees have reported broken bones and
other serious injuries as a result of their mistreatment.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of rape in
detention.
In January the Government acceded to the U.N. Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment. In November Parliament enacted legislation
making torture a punishable offense. The Government decided
that henceforth police officers convicted of abuse would pay
fines assessed by the courts. Formerly, the Govenment paid
such fines.
Torture victims may file a suit for compensation in the Supreme
Court, which granted awards ranging from $200 to $2,000, and in
some cases assessed fines against individual army or police
personnel. Most cases, however, take a year or more to move
through the courts. The Government has not yet developed
effective mechanisms to prosecute and punish military and
police personnel responsible for torture.
The LTTE reportedly used torture on a routine basis. Because
of the secretive nature of the LTTE, virtually no first-hand
information is available regarding their use of torture.
Prison conditions are generally poor and do not meet
internationally recognized minimum standards because of
overcrowding and the lack of sanitary facilities. However, the
Government permitted representatives from the ICRC to visit
more than 400 places of detention. Conditions are also
believed to be poor in prisons operated by the LTTE.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Under ordinary law, authorities must inform an arrested person
of the reason for arrest and bring that person before a
magistrate within 24 hours. In practice, persons detained
under ordinary law generally appear before a magistrate within
a few days of arrest. The magistrate may authorize bail or
order continued pretrial detention for up to 3 months or
longer. Except in limited areas of the northeast, security
forces may no longer use the Emergency Regulations to detain
suspects for prolonged periods without court approval.
During the first half of the year, there were continued reports
that security forces held people incommunicado at secret
locations--a violation of amendments to the Emergency
Regulations in 1993. However, human rights monitors believe
that such detentions occurred infrequently and for periods of
only a few days before the detainees were put into the normal
detention system. After taking power, the new Government
announced that it would close all secret detention facilities.
There were no reported detentions in secret locations after the
announcement.
After the Government lifted the Emergency Regulations, it began
to process the backlog of cases: it arraigned suspected
felons, dismissed charges for minor offenses, and released
persons against whom there was no case. However, the
Government continued to detain some individuals under the
Prevention of Terrorism Act, which permits detention without
charge for up to 18 months.
At year's end, the Government held an estimated 380 detainees,
down from more than 2,000 in 1993. Many of these detainees
were arrested during military operations against the LTTE and
are held in facilities operated by the army.
The Government modified the Emergency Regulations which
remained in force in the northeastern part of the island and in
Colombo. The change shortened pretrial detention to a maximum
of 4 consecutive 3-month periods. A magistrate must order
further detention. Detainees may challenge their detention in
court and sue the Government for violating their civil rights.
Security forces continued to conduct mass arrests of young
Tamil males--especially after several terrorist bombings in
Colombo in April--although such arrests were made less
frequently than in 1993. Most detainees were released after
identity checks lasting several hours to several days. The
Government justifies the arrests on security grounds, but
Tamils claim the arrests are a form of harassment.
The Human Rights Task Force (HRTF), a quasi-governmental body
established to register detainees, continued to investigate the
legality of detention in cases referred to it by the Supreme
Court and private citizens.
There were unconfirmed reports that the LTTE detained more than
2,000 civilians in the northern part of the island. The LTTE
did not permit the ICRC or any other humanitarian organization
to visit its detainees--aside from 30 security force personnel
and 10 fishermen incarcerated in Jaffna.
In September the LTTE released 10 police officers detained
since 1990 in response to peace overtures from the new
Government. The LTTE holds a number of prisoners of
conscience, including the poet and women's rights advocate
Thiagarajah Selvanithy (see Section 2.a.).
The Government does not practice exile. There are no legal
provisions allowing or prohibiting its use.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The judiciary is independent of executive branch influence.
The President appoints judges to the Supreme Court, the courts
of appeal, and the high courts. The Chief Justice and two
Supreme Court judges comprise a Judicial Service Commission
which appoints, transfers, and dismisses lower court judges.
Judges serve until mandatory retirement age, which is 65 for
the Supreme Court and 62 for other judges.
In criminal cases, defendants are tried in public by juries.
They are informed of the charges and evidence against them, may
be represented by the counsel of their choice, and have the
right to appeal. The Government provides counsel for indigent
persons tried on criminal charges in the high courts and the
Court of Appeal, but not in other cases; private legal aid
organizations assist some defendants.
Under the Emergency Regulations, the authorities detained
suspects for long periods without providing them access to
legal representation. However, after the lifting of the
Emergency Regulations in most parts of the country, the normal
judicial procedures were restored and defendants in criminal
cases were again accorded due process.
To avoid possible intimidation, there are no jury trials in
cases prosecuted under the seldom-invoked Prevention of
Terrorism Act (PTA). Defendants in PTA cases have less
protection than those tried under ordinary laws. Confessions,
which are otherwise inadmissible, are allowed in PTA cases, and
most convictions rely heavily on confessions. In such cases,
defendants bear the burden of proof to demonstrate that their
confessions were obtained by coercion. Nevertheless,
defendants in PTA cases have the right to appeal.
In the past, the Government claimed that all persons detained
under the Emergency Regulations and the PTA were suspected
members of the LTTE or the JVP. There is insufficient
information to determine whether these detainees were political
prisoners or suspected terrorists. Nonetheless, the overall
number of detainees held without charges declined significantly
(see Section 1.d.).
The LTTE has its own court system in Jaffna, composed of young
judges with little or no legal training. The courts reportedly
impose severe punishments. However, the courts have no basis
in law, and essentially operate as extrajudicial agents of the
LTTE, rather than a judiciary formed by a legal, sovereign
government.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The Government generally respects the constitutional
protections of individual privacy and the sanctity of the
family and home. The police obtain proper warrants for arrests
and searches conducted under ordinary law.
However, the security forces are not required to obtain
warrants for searches conducted under the PTA (see Section
1.e.). The Secretary of Defense is responsible for providing
oversight for such searches. There is no judicial review or
other means of redress for alleged illegal searches under the
PTA.
The Government is believed to monitor telephone conversations
and correspondence on a selective basis. The security forces
routinely open mail destined for the LTTE-controlled areas and
seize contraband.
The LTTE routinely invades the privacy of citizens. In 1990
the LTTE evicted thousands of Muslim residents from their homes
in the north. They currently live in refugee camps.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian
Law in Internal Conflicts
Hostilities between the Government and the LTTE continued but
at a reduced level from 1993. There were no reports of army
massacres of Tamil civilians, such as the ones at
Kokkadichcholai in 1991 and Mailanthani in 1992. However, the
security forces killed as many as 150 civilians by the
indiscriminate or excessive use of force. Over 250 were killed
in 1993. The security forces killed at least 90 persons, and
injured hundreds of others, in the periodic shelling of the
LTTE-controlled city of Jaffna. The LTTE also used excessive
force, killing an undetermined number of civilians.
During the year, the Government took measures to address the
problem of civilian casualties. The air force introduced new
rules of engagement to reduce inadvertent deaths and injuries
to civilians. The security forces also instituted human rights
instruction in its training courses.
The Government detains very few captured LTTE cadres, as many
of them themselves with cyanide before capture. The LTTE
claims that it kills security force personnel rather than take
them prisoner. It admits to holding only 30 security force
prisoners. The LTTE is believed to have killed many of the 600
to 800 police officers and security force personnel it captured
in recent years.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for the freedom of speech and
expression but permits restrictions in the interests of
national security. Such restrictions were eased by the
termination of the Emergency Regulations in most parts of the
country. Even in regions where the regulations are still
enforced, the Government eliminated the stipulation for lengthy
prison terms for "inciting feelings of disaffection, hatred or
contempt of the president or the Government" or "creating
discontent or disaffection among inhabitants."
The Government controls the country's largest newspaper chain,
a major television station, and the Sri Lankan Broadcasting
Corporation. However, a variety of independent newspapers,
journals, radio and television stations provide an unimpeded
range of views and openly criticize the Government and
political parties. The Government maintains a monopoly on the
broadcast of local news, but networks may broadcast
foreign-produced international news without deleting stories
concerning Sri Lanka.
Under the former UNP Government, many journalists alleged that
the Government sought to control the press by limiting the
issuance of import licenses for newsprint and the placement of
government advertising. However, journalists did not make such
allegations after the new Government took office in August.
Journalists and civil libertarians also complain that the
Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act stipulates an unlimited
fine or up to 2 years' imprisonment for anyone who criticizes a
member of Parliament. Although the Government did not invoke
the law in 1993 or 1994, journalists and civil libertarians
complain that the act is an unjustified infringement on freedom
of the press.
The LTTE does not tolerate freedom of expression. It tightly
restricts the print and broadcast media in areas under its
control, and has often killed those who criticize it. The LTTE
has detained Thiagarajah Selvanithy for over three years, and
has repressed the University Teachers for Human Rights, a human
rights group formerly based in the Jaffna peninsula.
The Government generally respects academic freedom. It also
removed restrictions on campus political activity with the
lifting of the Emergency Regulations. The LTTE does not
respect academic freedom, and has repressed and killed
professors who criticize it.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Government generally respects the constitutional freedoms
of assembly and association. Although the Prevention of
Terrorism Act may restrict such freedoms, the Government did
not use the Act for that purpose in 1994. The Government
routinely granted permits for demonstrations, including those
held during the parliamentary and presidential elections.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution establishes Buddhism as the official religion,
but also provides for the right for members of other faiths to
practice their religions freely. Foreign clergy may work in
Sri Lanka, but for more than 30 years, the Government has
prohibited the entry of new foreign Jesuit clergy. It permits
those already in the country to remain.
Evangelical Christians, who constitute less than 1 percent of
the population, have expressed concern that their efforts at
proselytization are occasionally met with hostility and
harassment by the local Buddhist clergy and others opposed to
their work. They sometimes complain that the Government
tacitly condones such harassment; however, there is no evidence
of this.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution grants every citizen "freedom of movement and
of choosing his residence" and "freedom to return to Sri
Lanka." The Government generally respects the right to
domestic and foreign travel. During the year, the Government
eased travel restrictions in the eastern part of the island
because of the decline in insurgent activity. The termination
of the Emergency Regulations also reduced travel restrictions.
However, government security measures have the effect of
restricting the movements of Tamils, especially young males.
The LTTE restricts the movement of Tamils in areas under its
control. It levies a large "exit tax" from persons wishing to
travel to areas under government control, requiring them to
leave all of their property in escrow. In order to ensure that
travelers return, the LTTE often grants permission to only one
family member to travel at a time. The LTTE does not allow
displaced persons living in areas under its control to return
to their homes in government-controlled areas.
An estimated 558,000 citizens have been displaced by the
insurgency. Most live in camps financed by the Government and
non-governmental organizations (NGO's). An estimated 69,000
Tamil refugees live in camps in southern India. Another
100,000 refugees have been integrated into the Tamil society of
southern India. The Government allows the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to operate freely. UNHCR
assisted in the repatriation of over 8,000 refugees from India.
The Government does not permit the entry into the country of
refugees, nor does it aid those who manage to enter yet seek
permanent residence elsewhere. There were no instances of
forcible repatriation.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Citizens have the constitutional right to change their
government through periodic multiparty elections based on
universal adult suffrage. Citizens exercised this right during
parliamentary elections in August, when the PA ended the
17-year rule of the UNP, and during the presidential election
in November, when PA presidential candidate Chandrika
Kumaratunga won 62 percent of the vote (also see the
Introduction). International election monitors judged the
elections to be free and fair.
However, the LTTE refused to allow elections in areas of the
Jaffna district under its control. The UNP Government
therefore restricted polling in this area to a few off shore
islands. It denied the opportunity to vote to displaced
persons in refugee camps outside Jaffna district.
Nine of the 10 Jaffna seats were won by candidates from pro-UNP
government Tamil groups, whose armed militias intimidated
voters. Although the election was marred by 25 murders (see
Section 1.a.), the harassment of voters appeared equally
divided among the parties and did not appear to be an official
government or party policy. The harassment did not have any
discernible affect on the election's outcome.
The Commissioner of Elections recognizes 26 parties; 9 hold
seats in the 225-member Parliament. The two most influential
parties generally draw their support from the majority
Sinhalese community. Historically, these two parties have
alternated in power. There are some 29 Tamil and 20 Muslim
members of Parliament.
Although there are no legal impediments to the participation of
women in politics or government, the social mores in some
communities limit women's activities outside the home. In
August voters elected a woman Prime Minister for the second
time in Sri Lanka's history. In November, for the first time,
a woman was elected president. Eleven women hold seats in the
Parliament; one is a minister without portfolio; one is the
Minister of Transport, Environment and Women's Affairs; and
four are deputy ministers.
The indigenous people of Sri Lanka, known as Veddas, number
less than 1,000. There are no restrictions on their
participation in politics.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
There are several local human rights groups, including the
Movement for Interracial Justice and Equality (MIRJE), the
University Teachers for Human Rights, the Civil Rights Movement
(CRM), and the Law and Society Trust (LST), which monitor civil
and political liberties. The Government eliminated the
Emergency Regulations which had regulated the activities of
local and foreign NGO's. The former Government did not respond
to the NGOs' human rights inquiries and reports. However, the
new Government appears more receptive to such groups. For the
consecutive second year, human rights monitors did not receive
death threats.
The Government made significant progress in implementing a
14-point "Program of Work" to which it voluntarily committed
itself during a meeting in February with the UNHRC (see the
Introduction). The program, designed to raise human rights
practices to an internationally acceptable standard, included,
inter alia, the following: revision of the Emergency
Regulations; pursuit of accountability; enactment of
legislation to prohibit torture; implementation of the
recommendations made by the United Nations Working Group on
Disappearances; and continuation of efforts for a negotiated
settlement to the LTTE insurgency.
The Government invited international observers to monitor both
the August parliamentary election and November presidential
election. There were no reports of interference with these
groups.
The Government continued to provide ICRC with virtually
unrestricted access to detention facilities. At the
Government's request, the ICRC supervised the delivery of food
and medical supplies into the war zone and provided human
rights training materials to the security forces.
Several international groups provide humanitarian relief to
those affected by the conflict in the northeast. The
Government does not hinder their activities, aside from
security concerns. Some of these groups conduct activities in
LTTE-controlled areas.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Women
Women have equal rights under national civil and criminal law.
However, issues related to family law, including divorce, child
custody, and inheritance, are adjudicated by the customary law
of each ethnic or religious group. These legal practices often
result in discrimination against women.
The Constitution guarantees equal employment opportunities in
the public sector, but women have no legal protection against
discrimination in the private sector where they are sometimes
paid less than men for equal work. In 1993 the Government
signed the International Charter on Women's Rights, but has not
yet passed enabling legislation. Several NGO's promote women's
rights.
According to at least one NGO, spousal violence is a serious
problem. There are no laws on spousal violence but the
Government has established a National Committee on Women which
will recommend appropriate legislation. To date the Committee
has identified as grave problems sexual assault, rape, and
other forms of violence--particularly directed against female
domestic servants. Most of its work concerns job
discrimination because most women are unwilling to report
physical and sexual abuse. Women's groups also report that the
sympathies of police and judicial officials often lie with the
accused male rather than the aggrieved female. However, the
Government has prosecuted numerous persons accused of sexual
abuse and rape.
Children
The Government is committed to protecting the welfare and
rights of children, but is constrained by lack of resources.
There is a significant problem of child prostitution in certain
coastal resort areas. A government survey published in January
concluded that there are approximately 2,000 active child
prostitutes, but private groups claim the number is much
higher. Most of these prostitutes are boys who sell themselves
to foreign tourists.
In May the Government initiated a campaign against child abuse
and exploitation. The Department of Education and several
NGO's developed a program to educate the public about the
dangers of child prostitution, including AIDS. A
government-appointed committee submitted a report recommending
legislation on child labor and prostitution, but at year's end
no legislation had been introduced in Parliament. NGO's
attribute the problem of exploitation of children to the lack
of law enforcement rather than inadequate legislation.
There have been reports that rural children working as domestic
servants in urban households have been abused by their
employers. Some of these children have reportedly been
starved, beaten, sexually abused, and forced into
prostitution. The Government does not effectively enforce the
laws designed to protect these children (see Section 6.c.)
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
There are approximately 1 million Tamils of comparatively
recent Indian origin living in Sri Lanka. About 85,000 of
these people do not qualify for either Indian or Sri Lankan
citizenship and face discrimination, especially in the
allocation of government funds for education. However, the
Government has stated that none will be forced to depart the
country.
Tamils maintain that they have long been the victims of
systematic discrimination in university education, government
employment, and in other matters controlled by the Government.
However, in recent years there has been little evidence of
overt discrimination in university enrollment or government
employment.
Religious Minorities
Discrimination based on religious differences is less common
than discrimination based on ethnic group or caste. In
general, the members of the various faiths tend to be tolerant
of each other's religious beliefs. However, Evangelical
Christians have been harassed for their attempts to convert
Buddhists to Christianity (see Section 2.c.).
In the northern part of the island, LTTE insurgents expelled
from their homes some 46,000 Muslim inhabitants in
1990--virtually the entire Muslim population. The LTTE has
expropriated Muslim homes, lands, and businesses, and
threatened Muslim families with death if they attempt to return.
People with Disabilities
The law does not mandate accessibility to buildings or
government services for people with disabilities. The World
Health Organization estimates that 7 percent of the population
is disabled. Most disabled people who are unable to work are
cared for by their families. The Department of Social Services
runs eight vocational training schools for the physically and
mentally disabled and sponsors a program of job training and
job placement for graduates. The Government gives some
financial support to nongovernmental organizations assisting
the disabled, subsidizes prosthetic devices and other medical
aids for the disabled, makes some purchases from disabled
suppliers, and has registered 74 schools and training
institutions for the disabled run by NGO's.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Government respects the constitutional right of workers to
establish labor unions. Any seven workers may establish a
union, adopt a charter, elect leaders, and publicize their
views. About 50 to 60 percent of the nonagricultural work
force, which is about 25 to 30 percent of the total work force,
is unionized. Most workers in large private firms are
represented by unions, but those in small-scale agriculture and
in small businesses do not belong to unions.
Most large unions are affiliated with political parties and
together play a prominent role in the political process. More
than 30 labor unions have political affiliations, but there are
also a small number of unaffiliated unions.
Through September, the Department of Labor registered 210 new
unions and cancelled the registration of 61 others. The
Department of Labor is authorized by law to cancel the
registration of any union which does not submit an annual
report. That requirement is the only legal grounds for
cancellation of registration.
All workers, other than civil servants and workers in
"essential" services, have the right to strike. By law,
workers may also lodge complaints with the Commissioner of
Labor, a labor tribunal or the Supreme Court to protect their
rights. Under the Emergency Regulations, the Goverment
controlled strikes by declaring some industries to be
"essential." After the Government terminated the Emergency
Regulations, it removed such industries from that category.
However, the President retains the power to designate any
industry as an essential service. The International Labor
Organization (ILO) has pointed out to the Government that
essential services should be limited to services where an
interruption would endanger the life, personal safety, or
health of the population.
Civil servants may collectively submit labor grievances to the
Public Service Commission but have no legal grounds to strike.
However, workers in the Post Office, Telecommunications Bureau,
Electricity Board and Port Authority staged brief stikes and
other work actions in 1993 and 1994. There were 246 strikes in
1994, 75 in the agricultural sector and 171 in the industrial
and other sectors.
The law prohibits retribution against strikers in nonessential
sectors. Employers may dismiss workers only for indiscipline.
Unions are free to affiliate with international bodies and many
of them have done so.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law provides for the right to collective bargaining and it
is widely practiced. In enterprises that do not have unions,
work councils--composed of employees, employers, and often a
public sector representative--are the forums for collective
bargaining, though the councils are not mandatory outside the
Export Processing Zones (EPZ'S) and do not have the power to
negotiate binding contracts.
The law does not require management to recognize unions, and in
some cases, employers have declined to recognize the unions in
their factories. However, the law prohibits antiunion
discrimination. Employers found guilty of such discrimination
are required to reinstate workers fired for union activities,
but have the right to transfer them to different locations.
Workers in the EPZ's have the same right to join unions as
other workers. However, employers in the EPZ's offer higher
wages and better working conditions, thus discouraging union
activity. In the place of unions, workers in the EPZ's are
represented by organizations known as Joint Consultative
Councils (JCC's), which are chaired by the Government's Board
of Investments (BOI) and consist of equal delegations from
labor and management. During the second half of the year,
workers in the EPZ's staged several strikes over wages,
benefits, and worker rights. In some cases, they took hostages
and violently confronted the police. The new Government
mediated an end to the strikes. Management granted modest pay
raises and the Government prosecuted the strikers who engaged
in violence.
In most instances, Wage Boards establish minimum wages and
conditions of employment, except in the EPZ's where wages and
work conditions are set by the BOI.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited by law. According to
some reports, rural children are sometimes employed in debt
bondage as domestic servants in urban households. The
Government does not have sufficient resources to protect these
children from such exploitation.
The LTTE conscripts high-school age children for work as cooks,
messengers, and clerks, and in some cases, pressed children
into builiding fortifications.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
In 1993 the Government raised the minimum age for employment to
15 years from 14 years. However, the law permits the
employment of children below the age of 15 by their parents or
guardians in limited agricultural work. It also permits
employment in any school or institution for training purposes.
Persons under 16 may not be employed in any public performance
in which life or limb is endangered. Until recently, children
under 14 years could be employed in the plantation industry,
but in 1991 the Government prohibited such employment after it
ratified ILO Convention 10.
Children are not employed in the EPZ's, the garment industry,
or any other export industry. About 85 percent of the children
below the age of 16 attend school. The law provides that the
employment of such persons is permitted for not more than 1
hour on any day before school.
Despite legislation, some child labor still exists. Some
children work in the informal sectors, including the
manufacture of coconut fiber products, fishing, wrapping
tobacco, street trading, domestic service, and farming.
Government inspections have been unable to eliminate these
forms of child labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is no national minimum wage, but some 38 wage boards set
minimum wages and working conditions according to sector and
industry. Current minimum wage rates average $32 (1,550
rupees) a month in industry and commerce; $30 (1,450 rupees) a
month in the service industry; and $1.50 (72 rupees) a day in
agriculture. The minimum wage in the garment industry is $41
(2,000 rupees) a month. The minimum wages are insufficient to
support a worker and the standard family of five, but most
families have more than one breadwinner.
The Department of Labor effectively enforces the minimum wage
law. Most permanent full-time workers are covered by laws that
prohibit them from working regularly more than 45 hours per
week (a 5 1/2 day work week). Such workers also receive 14
days of annual leave, 14 to 21 days of medical leave, and some
20 holidays each year. Maternity leave is available for
permanent and casual female workers. Employers must contribute
12 to 15 percent of a worker's wage to an employee's provident
fund and 3 percent to an employees trust fund. Employers who
fail to comply may be fined.
Several laws protect the safety and health of industrial
workers. The government provides nationwide programs on health
and safety issues to increase worker awareness. However, the
Department of Labor's small staff of inspectors is inadequate
to enforce compliance with the laws. Workers have the
statutory right to remove themselves from situations that
endanger their health, but many workers are unaware of, or
indifferent to, health risks and fear they would lose their
jobs if they removed themselves.
(###)
[end of document]
Return
to 1994 Human Rights Practices report home page.
Return to DOSFAN
home page.
This is an official U.S. Government source
for information on the WWW. Inclusion of non-U.S. Government links
does not imply endorsement of contents.