S. V. Kirubaharan, France

The seventy-fourth (74) anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – UDHR will be celebrated on 10^th December 2022. Already, preparations are also being made by the United Nations, member states, Non-Governmental Organisations – NGOs, educational institutions, and others for the celebration of the seventy-fifth (75) anniversary next year.

Historians and scholars have revealed that the concept of human rights was not born in the West! Although origins have been traced to ancient Greece and Rome, the “Cyrus Charter of Human Rights” was discovered in 1878 during the excavation of the site of Babylon. Many around the world have considered this the first declaration of human rights.

On 4 October 539 BC, Iranian (Persian) soldiers entered Babylon, the capital of Iraq (Babylonia). It was said that this bloodless war freed captives of all nationalities held as slaves for generations in Babylon. On 9 November, Cyrus of Iran (Persia) visited Babylon and issued a declaration, inscribed on a baked clay barrel (cylinder), known as the “Cyrus Charter of Human Rights”.

During the period of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi known as the Shah of Iran, the Cyrus Cylinder became very popular. The first United Nations Conference on Human Rights took place in Tehran in 1968. The then King of Iran, Shah declared that the “Cyrus Cylinder was the precursor to the modern Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.

Even today, one can see this in the British Museum in London, UK. (Photo attached) The Cyrus Cylinder was lent by the British Museum twice to Iran in 1971 and 2010 – Then in 2006 to Spain and in 2013 to the United States.

However, the concept and mechanisms of human rights were institutionalised and internationalised only after the birth of the United Nations. Human Rights are universal and interdependent.

Generally, Human Rights guarantee freedom, dignity, equality, and justice for everyone irrespective of age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, and any regional differences.

UN & UDHR

The United Nations Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by 50 countries at a UN conference in San Francisco. But the UN officially came into existence only on 24 October 1945 when all five major powers – France, United Kingdom, USA, USSR (Today Russia) and China (Today Republic of China or Taiwan) ratified the Charter. The United Nations commemorates 24 October as UN Day.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on 10th December 1948 by the United Nations at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. Since then this day has been celebrated all over the world as “International Human Rights Day”.

The UDHR contains thirty articles. Articles 1 and 2 outline the philosophical claim of the UDHR and emphasise that human beings are born free with equal dignity and are entitled to all rights and freedoms without any kind of discrimination. Articles 3 to 21 deal with civil and political rights and articles 22 to 27 deal with economic, social, and cultural rights. Concluding articles 28 and 29 stress the duties and responsibilities of the individual in a democratic society. Finally, article 30 gives cautionary notice that nothing in the UDHR may be interpreted as implying that a person or group has any right to do anything aimed at destroying the rights and freedoms set forth in the UDHR.

In Sri Lanka, Human Rights Day comes and goes every year – but has the UDHR made any impact? Limiting ourselves only to recent years, what has the government done in terms of investigation and accountability for those killed and disappeared during the last days of the war in May 2009? What is happening today in the war-torn North and East? In the South, what about the disappearances that took place during the JVP’s uprising in 1971 and the late 80s and the arbitrary killing of many including the JVP’s leader Rohana Wijeveera?

Thirteen years after the end of the war – land grabs, forced planting of religious monuments, colonisation and many other forms of destruction continue in the North and East today. As some claimed, if the people were saved from the clutches of terrorism, why should this conflict, discrimination and suffering continue even now? What happened to the promises given to the international community during the peak days of the war?

When leadership lacks vision and commitment to protect human rights, and does not promote them in the heart and minds of the people in Sri Lanka, citizens will raise their voices at any cost to uphold their birthrights, set out in the UDHR. Human Rights guarantee freedom, dignity, equality, and justice for everyone.

Nelson Mandela’s life

Some in Sri Lanka have never realised that the Lord Buddha was born a Hindu. The way a naval political figure portrayed himself as the custodian of Buddha Sasana is purely for political mileage. If someone eats beef, enjoys other non-veg and the taste of alcohol, dumps bodies in the sea, and is against equality, they are not fit to be even a fictional custodian of Buddha Sasana! Hypocrisy prevails in Sri Lanka in the name of Lord Buddha.

Nelson Mandela’s life was a shining example, showing the world, how people who are in a numerical majority can satisfy and cohabit with a numerical minority.

Such peaceful cohabitation is not at all imminent in Sri Lanka. Not only do the political leaders lack will-power to find a just and equitable solution, but also Buddhist supremacy in Sri Lanka categorically rejects any cohabitation.

During the UN World Conference Against Racism – WCAR in 2001, our organisation ‘Tamil Centre for Human Rights – TCHR’ had the opportunity to meet many Ministers of the South African cabinet and others. They visited our TCHR stall and expressed their solidarity with us. Not to forget, our stall was also visited by then Sri Lankan embassy staff in South Africa, including today’s Chief opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella. They argued with me concerning the situation in the North and East. Kirielle told me that he was working on a solution to the Tamil Question. Now twenty-two years have passed, what has happened to that solution to the ethnic conflict?

Seventy-four years is not a short period for any serious person to reach a political solution! In other words, the rulers of Sri Lanka found ways to take the Tamils and the international community for a ride, rather than finding a political solution to the ethnic issue.

Right to self-determination

Oppression against struggles in exercise of the right to self-determination is one of the root causes of horrendous human rights violations around the world.

Article 1 (one) of both the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights – ICCPR and International Covenant on Economic and Social rights – ICESCR states that “all peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”.

Gradually Article 1 lost its weight. It is no longer on the agenda of the Human Rights Council – HRC because all five permanent members of the Security Council – the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China have their own problem concerning this Article.

In USA – the people of Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico are struggling for self-determination; in the United Kingdom – the Northern Island crisis is still not resolved; Scotland and Wales are in the queue. In France – the people of Corsica and Bretagne are demanding their political rights, while in Russia and China – people of Chechnya, Tibet, Uyghur (East Turkestan) and many others are struggling for their self-determination. In such situations regarding the question of right to self-determination, International law appears to be powerless. However, a few years ago the UN gave birth to Eritrea, East-Timor and South Sudan. Of course, the birth of Kosovo was through clever diplomacy through a big power or powers.

With all these hurdles, the NGOs have been successful to a certain extent in their human rights advocacy, “Naming and shaming” the states which are violating human rights.  Some states misuse the UN procedures and have their own NGOs who are known as GONGOs (Government NGOs) in UN circles. These GONGOs not only advocate government policy, they also counter the accusations made by the genuine NGOs against states. GONGOs are indirectly funded by the governments’ agencies and they are to some extent members of espionage. Since 2012, there have been many GONGOs working on Sri Lanka in the HRC in Geneva. We face this severe problem with plants of the Sri Lankan government.

When one analyses the human smuggling of Tamils from Sri Lanka, it is obvious that the real political agenda is to decrease the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. As a first step, the police and other government forces intimidate and harass Tamils on a daily basis without any valid reason. While they face harassment, another group of business people originally from the ruling or ex-ruling parties hunt for people for human smuggling opportunities, extorting huge sums of foreign or local money. Then big shots working indirectly with government people, arrange transport and the Tamils end up in the middle of the sea and some country saves them on humanitarian grounds. This has been proved in human smuggling in where Tamils were involved. The curious question is: Why has the Sri Lankan government not paid any attention to this issue, if they consider the Tamils to be their own citizens? (End)

By Zinara Rathnayake

The Colombo to Badulla railway is so enchantingly beautiful that it’s become a bucket list adventure for many visitors.

I was woken by the long, forlorn sound of the siren. The brakes hissed and screeched as our train chugged up the hill and pulled into Radella, a station along one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world: the Colombo to Badulla railway.

“The journey is so enthralling that you don’t want to take your head out of the window,” said Dayawathie Ekanayake, who has travelled extensively by train across the island during her career as a finance consultant. “It makes you feel constantly in awe. You wonder about what comes next – is it a waterfall? A stupa-like tea garden? Or is it mist-clouded peaks? You never know. You just have to keep looking.”

Since my first journey along this route seven years ago, I have returned numerous times, eagerly jumping off the train to explore towns and hamlets flanked by tea estates. The 291km track takes in a mix of deep gorges, craggy cliffs, cascading falls, lakes and rivers from Sri Lanka’s west coast into its mountainous interior. It twists and turns through 46 tunnels, snaking past high montane canopy with bright red rhododendrons and wild ferns, a fragment of the native hill country forest cover left untouched by British colonisers. On a bright day, sun-drenched hills stretch down to the glistening southern coastline from the train window as far as the eye can see.The train journey has become an Instagram sensation in recent years (Credit: Mystockimages/Getty Images)The train journey has become an Instagram sensation in recent years (Credit: Mystockimages/Getty Images)

The train journey has become an Instagram sensation in recent years (Credit: Mystockimages/Getty Images)

This slow, 10-hour long journey might be inconvenient for the modern-day traveller, but it’s so enchantingly scenic that it’s become a bucket list adventure for many visitors.

It’s not just the views that has travellers in awe. The train journey itself has become an Instagram sensation in recent years, with travel bloggers risking their lives to take photos of themselves hanging off the door as the train rumbles past rickety bridges (some of them have been criticised for their dramatic poses). Yet, the journey is also tied to Sri Lanka’s colonial history and gives passengers a deeper understanding of the island-nation.

During British colonisation in the 19th Century, Sri Lanka was the third-largest coffee exporter in the world. As demand rose, it became expensive to ferry coffee on bullock carts from the central mountains to Colombo for shipment, especially with road conditions deteriorating during the monsoon months. Estates had to therefore store their coffee for long periods of time, causing the quality and value to deteriorate. So British estate owners pushed for a rail system to transport coffee. In 1867, the British completed a railway from the city of Kandy in central Sri Lanka to the coastal city of Colombo.

“The British didn’t build railways to help locals travel,” explained Sanka Abeysinghe, naturalist at the luxury boutique hotel chain Teardrop Hotels, who also conducts railway hikes for resort guests. “They designed railways to transport estate produce.”

I boarded the train in Colombo, leaving the muggy heat and low country farmlands to slowly ascend towards the rocky mountains surrounding Kandy. Cutting through rugged terrain, the train climbed 426m over a 21km stretch, passing through 12 tunnels, hugging treacherous curves along the mountains and soaring above thick tropical jungle.

The cool, misty climate in Sri Lanka’s hill country creates the perfect conditions for growing tea (Credit: Anton Petrus/Getty Images)

After leaving Kandy, we passed fertile riverine valleys, and entered Sri Lanka’s hill country. Tea flourishes in these damp, wet highlands, so, “when tea became prominent, after the coffee rust epidemic – a fungi disease that hindered the coffee trade [in 1869] – the British wanted to extend the railways to transport tea from the mountains to Colombo,” Abeysinghe explained.

In the 1870s, the British began to expand the railway from Peradeniya, a railway junction near Kandy, extending the route to the terminal station Badulla in 1924. This 178km-long stretch involved navigating through rainy, forested mountains, steep ridges and a series of sharp twists and turns by building an impressive mix of bridges, viaducts, tunnels and embankments. It took 52 years to complete.

We pushed out of the mountains, and over the next three hours we passed small and well-kept British-era railway stations like Galboda and Watawala, which were built solely for the purpose of transporting tea from each estate. We sluggishly ascended past Hindu temples tucked in tea gardens, small housing settlements where the tea estate labourers live, and turpentine forests shrouded in swirling mist. Sometime after leaving Hatton – the gateway town to Adam’s Peak, a holy mountain for pilgrims of all faiths – we entered the Poolbank Tunnel, the longest of the 46 tunnels at more than half a kilometre in length.

“You cannot really see the light at the end of the tunnel here,” Abyesinghe said, chuckling.

At Nanu Oya, visitors can tour the plantations and learn about the history of tea on the island (Credit: Saiko3p//Getty Images)

From here, young passengers eagerly hung from the door to see the gushing cascades of the spectacular St Clair’s Falls through tea bushes. Cold air drifted in from the open windows and rising mist cloaked the towering Great Western mountain range. Many passengers got off the train at Nanu Oya, a tea-country town where visitors can tour the plantations and learn about the history of tea on the island; but I stayed on board, climbing up to Pattipola, the highest broad gauge railway station in the world. From here, we finally left the cold central hills, travelling past dairy farms towards the sun-drenched south-eastern mountains.

After a couple of hours later, we pulled in at Ella. Over the last decade, this once-sleepy village has turned into a lively tourist hub with cafes and bars lining the streets and people posing for photos in front of the picturesque Nine Arch Bridge, a viaduct with nine arches that soars over tropical jungles of plantain trees and areca nut palms and has become one of the most photographed spots on the island.

Flanked by thick jungle and tea plantations, the bridge was designed by British engineer Harold Marwood, but according to folklore, it never would have been built were it not for local knowledge.

It’s said that during World War One, when it was difficult to source steel from Europe, British engineers had to rethink the bridge design. Since colonial rulers had little to no knowledge about local construction materials, a Sri Lankan builder chipped in to help. Locals completed the engineering marvel using only bricks, stone and cement.

Nine Arch Bridge is one of the most photographed spots in Sri Lanka (Credit: Nathan Mahendra)

Looking out of the train window, I gazed at the 90m-long viaduct rising through the trees, connecting Ella to the highland town of Demodara. The British also needed a way to manage the steep incline of the terrain from here. “The climb was too abrupt to handle for the engines,” Abeysinghe said.

Again, folklore gives credit to locals who found a way to solve the problem by creating a spiralling track. As we reached Demodara Loop, the train halted at Demodara for passengers to deboard, snaked around a hillock and re-appeared from a 134m-long tunnel right beneath the station.

According to legend, local engineer DW Wimalasurendra worked at the site and thought of this spiral design after seeing a kankami (a tea estate worker who manages South Indian labourers) tying and re-tying his turban. The cutting-edge engineering allowed the train to avoid the steep climb.

The spiral track at Demodara Loop is said to have been inspired by a worker tying and re-tying his turban (Credit: Pius99/Getty Images)

We were nearing the end of the journey, and the train slowly descended to the sleepy, terracotta-roofed town of Hali Ela to terminate at the city of Badulla in the lower central hills.

As we pulled into the station, I realised that despite having travelled extensively around the world, I’ve often felt happiest during this slow journey through my own country. In many ways, as the train snakes past the century-old tea bushes, British stations and settlements of tea-estate communities, it quietly reveals the story of an island to those willing to put down their phones and look for it.

BBC (Travel)

On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day and on the eve of International Human Rights Day, the United States is taking the following actions to promote accountability for corruption and human rights abuse around the world.  These actions include financial sanctions, using Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Act, and four additional country-focused Executive Orders.  The actions also include visa restrictions pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022 (Div. K, P.L. 117-103), as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2023 (Div. A, P.L. 117-180) and pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

All property and interests in property of individuals or entities designated under E.O.s 14024, 13818, 13722, 13687, or 13553 that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).  In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.  Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited.  The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Section 7031(c) provides that in cases where there is credible information that officials of foreign governments have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are generally ineligible for entry into the United States and must be either publicly or privately designated.  INA Section 212(a)(3)(C) provides grounds for the Secretary of State to exclude any alien whose entry he determines would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.

Actions Taken for Significant Corruption

El Salvador

Conan Tonathiu Castro Ramirez (Castro Ramirez), Presidential Legal Secretary

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Castro Ramirez for facilitating the cover-up of fraud by obstructing investigations into the misappropriation of public funds during the pandemic and for directly engaging in corrupt activities by using his office for personal financial gain.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is publicly designating Castro Ramirez for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, four immediate family members are also designated.

Oscar Rolando Castro (Castro), Minister of Labor

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Castro for engaging in corruption and misappropriating public funds for his personal benefit.  Rolando used aligned unions to benefit himself and political allies in exchange for express processing of union credentials, among other benefits.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Castro for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, an immediate family member is also designated.

Guatemala

Allan Estuardo Rodriguez Reyes (Rodriguez), Former President of Congress

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Rodriguez for using his political influence to award construction grants in exchange for financial kickbacks as well as offering bribes for votes on a bill in congress.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Rodriguez for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, one immediate family member is also designated.

Jorge Estuardo Vargas Morales (Vargas), Congressman

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Vargas for corruption related to contracts and operations at government-run ports. Vargas maintains influence at the port through bribery, creating blockades and strikes for personal profit.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Vargas for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, four immediate family members are also designated.

Luis Alfonso Chang Navarro (Chang), Former Minister of Energy and Mines

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Chang for using his position to secure kickbacks.  Chang solicited bribes and other favors in exchange for not revoking licenses.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Chang for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, two immediate family members are also designated.

Haiti

Romel Bell, Former Director General of the General Administration of Customs

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Romel Bell for abusing his public position by participating in corrupt activity that undermined the integrity of Haiti’s government.  As part of this action, one immediate family member was also designated.

Rony Celestin, Senator

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Rony Celestin for abusing his public position by participating in corrupt activity that undermined the integrity of Haiti’s government.  As part of this action, four immediate family members are also designated.

Mali

Karim Keita (Keita), Former President of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Keita, and one entity controlled by Keita, Konijane Strategic Marketing, for involvement in corruption.  Keita used his position as chairman of the National Assembly’s Security and Defense Commission to embezzle defense spending, secure bribes, and redirect contracts to his associates.  Additionally, Keita used defense funds to bribe other officials in support of the 2018 re-election of his father, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who is the former President of Mali.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Keita for misappropriation of public funds.  As part of this action, two immediate family members are also designated.

Ukraine

Pavlo Vovk (Vovk), Chairman of the Kyiv District Administrative Court

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Vovk for soliciting bribes in return for interfering in judicial and other public processes.  As part of this action, two immediate family members are also designated.

Action Taken Related to Human Rights Abuses and Violations

Azerbaijan

Kerim Heydar Alimardanov (Alimardanov), an official in the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime within the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs, known as the “Bandotdel”

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Alimardanov for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely torture of detainees in 2015 and 2016.

Burundi

Alain Guillaume Bunyoni (Bunyoni), a former Burundian official

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Bunyoni for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)

Border Guard General Bureau (BGGB)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13687, which authorizes imposition of sanctions with respect to the DPRK, the Department of the Treasury is designating the BGGB for being an agency, instrumentality, or controlled entity of the Government of DPRK or the Workers’ Party of Korea.  DPRK state security agencies, including the BGGB, thwart escapes through tight border controls, including land mines and shoot-on-sight orders that have resulted in the deaths of numerous North Koreans.

Two DPRK-related individuals and Seven Entities

• Pursuant to E.O. 13722, which authorizes the imposition of sanctions with respect to the DPRK and Workers’ Party of Korea, the Department of the Treasury is designating two individuals as well as seven related entities for providing material support to, acting on behalf of, or being owned by the DPRK’s government-run animation studio, SEK Studio. The targets are:  Kim Myong Chol, based in France; Everlasting Empire Limited, based in Hong Kong; Tian Fang (Hong Kong) Holding Limited, based in Hong Kong; Fujian Nan’an Import and Export Company, based in China; Limited Liability Company Kinoatis, based in the Russian Federation; and Funsaga Pte Ltd, based in Singapore; Deepak Subhash Jadhav based in India; Yancheng Three Line One Point Animation Co., Ltd, based in China; Quanzhou Yiyangjin Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd., based in China.

Guinea

Alpha Conde (Conde), former president of Guinea

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Conde for his connection to serious human rights abuse.  During Conde’s tenure, Guinean security forces engaged in serious human rights abuse, including extrajudicial killings, in the context of political protests surrounding the March 22, 2020, legislative elections and constitutional referendum.

Indonesia

Godlief Mangkak Timbul Silaen (Silaen), former police chief of the then-East Timor region and commander of Indonesia’s Security Control Command

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Silaen for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely the extrajudicial killing of civilians in East Timor (now Timor-Leste) in 1999.

Iran

Ali Akbar Javidian (Javidian), Kermanshah Province Commander of the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (LEF)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Javidian for his connection to serious human rights abuse.  During Javidian’s tenure members of the LEF used excessive force against protestors, resulting in extrajudicial killings.

Allah Karim Azizi (Azizi), warden of Rezaee Shah Prison

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Azizi for his connection to serious human rights abuse.  During Azizi’s tenure, prison guards have engaged in maltreatment of prisoners, including serious physical abuse.

Ebrahim Kouchakzaei (Kouchakzaei), LEF commander in Chabahar, in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province

• Pursuant to E.O. 13553, which authorizes the imposition of sanctions with respect to serious human rights abuses by the Government of Iran, the Department of the Treasury is designating Kouchakzaei for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Iran’s LEF.  He is the alleged perpetrator of a rape of a 15-year-old girl in mid-September 2022.

Mohammed Reza Ostad (Ostad), warden of Bushehr Prison

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Ostad for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely the cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of prisoners.

13 Iranian government officials

• Pursuant to INA Section 212(a)(3)(C), the Department of State is also taking action to impose visa restrictions on 13 current and former Iranian government officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the abuse, detention or killing of peaceful protestors or inhibiting their rights to freedom of expression or peaceful assembly, including through censorship via a country-wide internet shutdown in Iran.

People’s Republic of China (PRC)

Wu Yingjie (Wu), Party Secretary of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Wu for his connection to serious human rights abuse in Tibet.  As the TAR’s Party Secretary from 2016 to October 2021, Wu directed government officials in the region to engage in “social stability” policies, which led to serious human rights abuse, including physical abuse and arbitrary arrests and detentions.

Zhang Hongbo (Zhang), director of the Tibetan Public Security Bureau (TPSB)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Zhang for his connection to serious human rights abuse in Tibet.  Zhang has been the director of the TPSB since 2018 through at least November 2022.  He has worked to advance the PRC’s goals and policies in Tibet as “Tibet’s police chief.”  During Zhang’s tenure, the TPSB engaged in serious human rights abuse, including arbitrary detention and physical abuse.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Zhang for gross violations of human rights, namely arbitrary detention of Tibetans, which also amount to particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

Tang Yong (Tang), former deputy director of the Chongqing Area Prisons in the PRC

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Tang for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely arbitrary detention of Falun Gong practitioners, which also amount to particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

Li Zhenyu (Li)

Zhuo Xinrong (Zhuo)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Li and Zhuo as well as a network of entities including Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. (Dalian) and Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Ltd. (Pingtan), and over 150 vessels for their connection to serious human rights abuse.  Dalian- and Pingtan-owned and -operated vessels engaged in forced labor, involving withheld pay, physical violence, abusive working and living conditions, and meager food and water, which contributed to the deaths of crew members.

Peru

José Carlos Bertarelli Rodríguez (Rodríguez), a former commander of the Ayacucho Intelligence Detachment in Peru

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Rodríguez for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely torture between 1983 – 1985.

Philippines

Apollo Quiboloy (Quiboloy)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Quiboloy for his connection to serious human rights abuse. As the founder of the Philippines-based church, Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name (KOJC), Quiboloy took advantage of his leadership role within the KOJC to engage in a pattern of systemic and pervasive rape and other physical abuse involving minors as young as 11 years old from 2006 to at least 2020.

The Russian Federation

Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (Russia’s CEC)

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Russia’s CEC alongside its 15 members.  In September 2022, Russia’s CEC helped oversee and monitor sham referendums held in areas of Russia-controlled Ukraine that were rife with incidents of clear voter coercion and intimidation.  Additionally, Russia’s CEC conducts and oversees federal and local elections in Russia, including referendums.  For years, Russia’s CEC has touted as clean and transparent elections in Russia that have been riddled with irregularities and credible accusations that the Kremlin has carefully managed the results.

Lyudmila Nikolaevna Zaitseva (Zaitseva)

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, , the Department of State is designating Zaitseva, under Section 1(a)(ii)(F), for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, activities that undermine the peace, security, political stability, or territorial integrity of the United States, its allies, or its partners for or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, directly or indirectly, the Government of the Russian Federation.  Zaitseva was reportedly implicated in human rights abuses against civilians in Ukraine, specifically the kidnapping and forced relocation of children from Ukraine.

Ochur-Suge Terimovich Mongush (Mongush)

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of State is designating Mongush, under Section 1(a)(vi)(B), for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14024. Mongush was reportedly implicated in human rights abuses against civilians in Ukraine, specifically torture.

Oleg Yuryevich Nesterov (Nesterov), Russian Federation Presidential Administration official

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Nesterov for being directly involved in the planning for and implementation of filtration points in Russia-controlled Ukraine.

Yevgeniy Radionovich Kim (Kim), Russian Federation Presidential Administration official

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Kim for being directly involved in the planning for and implementation of filtration points in Russia-controlled Ukraine.

Marina Konstantinovna Sereda (Sereda)

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Sereda for working with the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Ministry of Internal Affairs to manage filtration points in Russia-controlled Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Aleksey Valentinovich Muratov (Muratov), Official of the so-called DNR

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Sereda for coordinating filtration point operations with so-called DNR leader Denis Pushilin.  In particular, Muratov has spearheaded the procurement of necessary equipment and technology to support filtration points in Russia-controlled Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Sri Lanka

Prabath Bulathwatte (Bulathwatte), former head of a clandestine Sri Lankan Army platoon, known as the “Tripoli Platoon,”

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Bulathwatte for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely torture and/or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of Sri Lankan journalist, Keith Noyahr, in May 2008.

Vietnam

• Vo Thanh Dung (Vo), former warrant officer at the Lagi Police Station Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Vo for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely torture, in January 1987.

For more information about these designations, please see the following statements:

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1154

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1155

US Department of State

Ircon International Ltd. (IRCON) has secured an order on competitive bidding basis valuing $ 14.89 million in Sri Lanka.

“IRCON has awarded the work for procurement of Design, Installation, Testing, Commissioning and Certifying of Signaling and Telecommunication system from Maho Junction (including) to Anuradhapura (excluding) by Sri Lanka Railways.

Ministry of Transport, Sri Lanka will implement the project under Indian Line of Credit at a total price of $ 14.89 million equivalent to approx. INR 122 Crore,” the company said in a press release.

IRCON has secured the work on competitive bidding basis and the contract period will be 24 months from the date of signing of the Contract Agreement.

It is a Miniratna (Category-I) Schedule -A, Public Sector Enterprises. A Government company, IRCON was incorporated by the Central Government (Ministry of Railways). It is the leading turnkey construction company in the public sector.

The company has widespread operations in several states in India and countries across the globe. They have specialized constructions organisation covering the entire spectrum of construction activities and services in the infrastructure sector.

The company has executed projects operated in the areas of Railway construction including ballast less track, electrification, tunneling, signal and telecommunication as well as leasing of locos, construction of roads, highways, commercial, industrial and residential buildings and complexes, airport runway and hangars, metro and mass rapid transit system, etc.

India’s IRCON International Limited and the Sri Lankan government have inked a $91.26 million agreement in 2019 for upgrading the around 130 km-long Maho-Omanthai rail line which is over 100 years old.

Once the upgradation is completed, Jaffna bound trains will be able to travel at 120 kmph, providing safe, efficient and comfortable transportation for the passengers in the Northern Province.

The railway line is being upgraded under Indian concessional financing. This is the first time the track is being upgraded in 100 years.

The upgradation will include modification of 12 crossing stations, seven halt stations and 78 level crossings.

At present, trains are running with speed restrictions of 40 kmph on this section. The travel time too between Maho and Omanthai is about three hours with a maximum sanctioned speed of 60 kmph.

A new crossing station will be constructed between Medawachchiya to Vavuniya, and 218 culverts and 90 bridges will be repaired or reconstructed as required. “

The upgradation would help double the speed potential of the railway track from the current 60 km to 120 km per hour, as well as reduce the maintenance costs.