Human Rights Watch has called on the government of Sri Lanka to withdraw the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, stating that it would empower authorities to violate fundamental human rights systematically.
The human rights organization also demanded that any counterterrorism legislation the government decides to adopt upholds international human rights standards. The government had promised to implement an improved law following criticism from both domestic and international stakeholders over the abuse under the existing counterterrorism legislation. However, instead of addressing these issues, the proposed bill will expand the definition of terrorism to include property damage, theft, or robbery and restrict the rights of speech and assembly.
The bill contains provisions that grant the president, police, and military broad powers to detain people without evidence and to arbitrarily ban gatherings and organizations without judicial oversight. Although the Anti-Terrorism Bill includes some improvements, it has provisions that facilitate abuse. Human Rights Watch stated that the bill was designed to silence peaceful critics and target minorities.
The organization pointed out that the proposed law does not fully meet any of the standards set out by the UN independent expert on human rights and counterterrorism in 2021, including providing an appropriate definition of terrorism, precision and legal certainty, measures that adhere to the absolute prohibition on torture, provisions to prevent arbitrary detention, and due process and fair trial guarantees. The definition of terrorism under the proposed bill is vague and overbroad and includes acts that, while criminal, do not rise to any reasonable definition of terrorism, such as peaceful protests.
