By Gazala Anver
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) says that over 5000 cases of human rights violations in Sri Lanka are still pending, unresolved, due to the non-appointment of commissioners. The commissioners who are appointed by the Constitutional Council itself is no longer operative.
Up to date, during 2010 alone, there have been around 7500 reported cases, not counting cases carried forward from the previous year. These 7500 cases include torture, harassment, arrest and detention, missing persons, death in custody, termination of employment, pension benefits, and medical negligence among many others. Of these 7500 cases, 2200 cases have been disposed of mostly through mediation.
HRC Secretary, Chandra Ellawala said that they cannot issue recommendations to resolve the balance cases without the presence of the commissioners. “We do the preliminary investigations and prepare things for the commissioners to look into but we cannot issue recommendations to complainants, without them,” Ellawala said. He was however unsure if the commissioners are in the process of being appointed.
Source: The Sunday Leader – 26.08.2010