Parliament to debate on enforced disappearances bill this week

The proposed draft legislation to criminalise forcible disappearances was passed today in the parliament (53-16).

The draft Bill for Protection against Enforced Disappearances which was postponed twice in Parliament previously, was rescheduled for debate today March 7, after which the Bill was put to the vote.

The Government presented the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances Bill in Parliament on March 7, 2017. The Bill was scheduled to be taken up for debate on July 5 and September 19 last year, but the Government deferred it due to objections from various groups.

The Joint Opposition raised objections to the Bill, stating that it posed a threat to the security forces.

The Government had earlier clarified that the Bill was not retrospective and its main objective was to ensure that every Sri Lankan citizen enjoys the right to freedom to live without fear of being a victim of enforced disappearances or abductions.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance Bill was gazetted by order of the Prime Minister on February 9 following cabinet approval.

The Bill, will give effect to the UN International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance that the Government of Sri Lanka ratified in May 2016. Under the convention, the country has an obligation to enact local laws to criminalise enforced disappearance and offer protection to victims of the crime.

According to Section 3 of the Bill, any public officer or person acting with the authority or support of the State, who “arrests, details, wrongfully confines, abducts, kidnaps” and refuses to acknowledge the arrest, detection, confinement or abduction, conceals the fate of such a person or refuses to disclose the person’s whereabouts, will be guilty of the crime of enforced disappearance.

Under the provisions of the Enforced Disappearances Bill, the crime is punishable by a prison term not exceeding 20 years and a fine of Rs. 1 million. Persons convicted of the crime of enforced disappearance will also be liable to pay compensation of no less than Rs. 500,000 to a victim.