The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the cases of the parliamentarians listed above, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/183/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 182nd session (April 2008) on the above cases, and having before it the case of Mr. Mano Ganesan, which has been the subject of a study and report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians following the Procedure for the treatment by the Inter-Parliamentary Union of communications concerning violations of the human rights of members of parliament,

Having before it the written report of its delegation on the mission to Sri Lanka carried out in February 2008, including the observations provided on it by the authorities and the parliamentarians concerned,

Taking account of the letter by the Acting Secretary General of Parliament of 8 August 2008, forwarding a progress report on the cases in question established by the Police Headquarters, as well as of a further progress report forwarded by the Permanent Mission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva on 13 October 2008,

Also taking account of the information provided by Dr. Jayawardena on the occasion of the 119th IPU Assembly,

Considering the following new information and allegations on file:

• regarding Dr. Jayawardena: on 10 June 2008, the Appeal Court allowed Dr. Jayawardena's application for a Writ of Mandamus, directing the police authorities to provide him with a jeep or other suitable vehicle for as long as was warranted; according to the progress report established by the Police Headquarters, as of 2 July 2008 the police have provided Dr. Jayawardena with “a brand new vehicle from the fleet of the Police fleet”, which, according to Dr. Jayawardena, is a Tata Cab that cannot exceed 40 km/h; the Police Department has reportedly launched a malicious campaign to tarnish Dr. Jayawardena's reputation and depict him as a pro-LTTE parliamentarian, which puts his life at great risk; he submitted a complaint to the National Police Commission and Parliament's Privileges Committee, which is nevertheless without a Chairman at present and meetings have been indefinitely postponed; in addition, in August 2008, Dr. Jayawardena was prevented from performing a religious retreat at the Madhu Shrine for which permission had been granted to him since 1994; on 14 August 2008 he was ordered by Major General Lalith Daulagalla to leave the Church immediately as the Secretary of Defence had not granted permission for him to stay there, adding that he was an opposition member of parliament; the matter is now pending before the National Human Rights Commission;

• regarding Mr. Mano Ganesan: the back-up vehicle provided to Mr. Ganesan following the Committee's mission had technical defects but, according to the authorities, has been repaired in the meantime; moreover, a State-sponsored campaign of slander has reportedly been launched against Mr. Ganesan to discredit him and his work on enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka and, on 2 September 2008, he was summoned for questioning by the Director of the Terrorist Investigation Division, who questioned him for nearly seven hours in connection with peace visits to Killinochi he carried out during the period of the Cease Fire Agreement from 2002 to 2005 and questioned him about an alleged special relationship with the LTTE; that since then, stories in relation to the questioning which was conducted in private in the absence of even Mr. Ganesan's lawyer, are reportedly being planted in the media very systematically, and that the Sinhala media were carrying news items on him which were of a criminal nature, increasing the risk to his security, and that he feels singled out as a human rights defender, an ethnic Tamil parliamentarian and a democratic political party leader belonging to the opposition alliance;

• regarding Mr. Chandranehru: according to Mr. Chandranehru, the person who attacked him during a visit to his constituency in June 2007 was Mr. Iniyabarathy, alias Kumarasuwamy Pushpakumar; he reported that that person was appointed coordinator for President Rajapakse in Ampara District and received his credentials from the President on 25 May 2008; Mr. Iniyabarathy and his group reportedly continue to threaten Mr. Chandranehru's supporters and constituents in an attempt to have them break off contact with him; according to the source, Mr. Chandranehru can indeed no longer travel to his constituency for fear of his safety; Mr. Chandranehru has raised the matter as a privilege issue and complained to the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General and the Speaker, reportedly to no avail; according to the police progress report, Mr. Chandranehru has been provided with additional security; the police investigation points to one “Parathy” as the likely culprit; an identification parade took place before the Akkaraipattu Magistrate Court on 16 September 2008 when a suspect was indeed identified; however, the court ordered him to appear upon notice;

• regarding the cases of Mr. Raviraj and Mr. Maheswaran, killed on 10 November 2006 and 1 January 2008, respectively: according to the police progress report, the case of Mr. Raviraj was to be called on 16 September 2008, and in the case of Mr. Maheswaran, the Attorney General filed an indictment and the case was to be called on 19 August 2008 for the service of indictment and listing for hearing; no information regarding the outcome of the hearings in either case has been provided;

• regarding the case of Mr. Dassanayake, killed on 8 January 2008: according to the police progress report, police inquiries have led to the arrest on 10 June 2008 of a suspect with links to the LTTE who divulged vital incriminating material relevant to Mr. Dassanayake's assassination; the case is registered before the Magistrate Court of Kanuwana and will be called again on 5 November 2008;

• regarding the case of Mr. D.M.S.B. Dissanayake: on 22 July 2008, the Human Rights Committee set up by virtue of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights expressed the view¹ that the State of Sri Lanka had violated Mr. Dissanayake's rights under Article 9 (1), Article 19, and Article 25 (b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and was therefore under an obligation to provide him with an adequate remedy, including compensation and the restoration of his right to vote and stand for election and to make such changes to the law and practice as necessary to avoid similar violations in the future,

1. Thanks the Sri Lankan authorities for the information and observations provided and for their cooperation;

2. Endorses the concluding remarks of the Committee's on-site mission to Sri Lanka in February 2008;

3. Notes with satisfaction that since the mission took place an indictment has been filed in the case of the murder of Mr. Maheswaran and that a person suspected of Mr. Dassanayake's murder has been identified, although not arrested, and earnestly hopes that trial proceedings will soon reveal the full truth in both cases;

4. Nevertheless deplores the lack of any progress in the investigation regarding the murder of Mr. Raviraj and particularly of Mr. Pararajasingham as no action seems to have been taken to examine the implication of a possible suspect whose name is known to the authorities;

5. Is deeply concerned that, with the exception of Mr. Chandranehru, in none of the other cases of threats and attacks against TNA parliamentarians has there been any progress although, at least in one instance, the name of the person who made death threats is known to the authorities; is particularly alarmed at the absence of effective action to identify and punish those responsible for abducting family members and staff of TNA parliamentarians when there are clear leads as to the group behind those abductions and their motive; urges the authorities seriously and promptly to investigate these abductions, which are crimes, and to punish the culprits;

6. Is concerned at the continuing intimidation of outspoken opposition members of parliament, the attempts made to link them to the LTTE and the inadequacy of the security measures afforded to them, as well as at the inaction of parliament's Privileges Committee, which can only hamper parliament's ability effectively to protect the rights of its members and ensure that they can exercise their mandate without fear of harassment;

7. Affirms that freedom of expression and respect for the rule of law must remain a cornerstone of democracy, even in such troubled situations as that affecting Sri Lanka, since otherwise authoritarian rule may take root;

8. Can only reaffirm the conclusion of the mission report that there can be no better deterrent against violence targeting members of parliament and indeed the public at large than combating impunity and ensuring that those responsible for assassinations and other crimes are identified, apprehended and brought to justice, and urges the authorities to take firm action to this end;

9. Calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to comply with its obligations under the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which it is a party, and to implement without delay the recommendations by the Human Rights Committee in the case of Mr. D.M.S.B. Dissanayake;

10. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the authorities and to other parties concerned;

11. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 120th Assembly of the IPU (April 2009).

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1. CCPR/C/93/D/1373/2005.

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