BRIEFING NOTES: (1) Sri Lanka; (2) El Salvador

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Liz Throssell

 Location: Geneva

 Date: 05 April 2022

 Subject:        (1) Sri Lanka;  (2) El Salvador

 1)         Sri Lanka

 We are closely following developments in Sri Lanka where in the past few days the authorities announced a state of emergency and other restrictions in response to mass protests against the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. 

Public frustration has been rising in recent months with largely peaceful demonstrations taking place across the country. The situation has worsened over the past two weeks amid sudden shortages in fuel, cooking gas and some essential food items, as well as power cuts. This led to further protests by Sri Lankans left desperate by the rising cost of living and difficulties to obtain basic items.

 After a demonstration outside the president’s residence on 31 March, the Government declared a state of emergency on 1 April, announced a 36-hour curfew from 6pm on 2 April and shut down social media networks for 15 hours on 3 April.  There have also been reports of excessive and unwarranted police violence against protesters.  

 We are concerned that such measures are aimed at preventing or discouraging people from legitimately expressing their grievances through peaceful protests, and that they frustrate the exchange of views on matters of public interest. We remind the Sri Lankan authorities that measures related to states of emergency must comply with international human rights law, should be limited to the extent strictly required by the situation and be proportionate to it, and should not be used to stifle dissent or hinder peaceful protest.

 The UN Human Rights Office will continue to closely watch developments. As the High Commissioner noted in her recent report to the Human Rights Council in February, the drift towards militarisation and the weakening of institutional checks and balances in Sri Lanka have affected the State’s ability to effectively tackle the economic crisis and ensure the realization of the economic, social and cultural rights of all people in Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner has also previously voiced her concern that the Government responds to criticism and dissent in ways that undermine civic space, and we reiterate these concerns today.

 We urge the Government, political parties and civil society to engage in immediate, inclusive and meaningful dialogue to find a solution for the pressing economic and political challenges that Sri Lanka faces and to avoid further polarization of the situation. 

 2)         El Salvador

 We are deeply concerned by the series of measures recently introduced in El Salvador in response to the rise in gang killings.

 Since the state of emergency adopted on 27 March, police and military forces have been deployed to gang stronghold areas and reportedly resorted to unnecessary and excessive use of force. More than 5,747 people have been detained without an arrest warrant, and some have reportedly been subjected to alleged cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

 In addition to the state of emergency, we are deeply concerned about certain amendments to criminal law and criminal procedure. These raise serious concerns from the perspective of international human rights law and standards, through their imposition of elevated sentences, including with respect to children, in combination with weakening of due process guarantees.

 Criminal trials can now be held in absentia, in the case of alleged gang members, or presided over by so-called “faceless” judges, that is, judges whose identity remains confidential, while the previous two-year limit to pre-trial detention has been eliminated. Teenagers associated with gangs who are found guilty of serious offences may now be sentenced as adults and serve their sentence in adult rather than juvenile detention. Those aged 12 to 16 must now serve 10-year terms of imprisonment instead of seven years; and those aged 16 to 18 years must serve 20-year terms. 

 We recognise the challenges posed by gang violence in El Salvador and the State’s duty to ensure security and justice. However, it is imperative that this is done in compliance with international human rights law.

 We remind El Salvador that the right to life, the right not to be subjected to torture, principles of fair trial and the presumption of innocence, as well as the procedural safeguards that protect these rights, apply at all times, even during states of emergency. This is especially so in the case of children.

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