Subcommittee on International Human Rights Committee on Nov. 19th, 2013

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

Order, please, colleagues. This is the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. Today is November 19 and this is our third meeting. This meeting is televised.

Our witnesses today are from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

That's to say, we have with us today Susan Gregson, Jeff Nankivell, and Deborah Chatsis, who are here to advise us about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

I gather, Ms. Gregson, that you have with you a couple of other people as well who are seated in the rows behind you. I'll invite you to make any further introductions you think are appropriate in the course of your testimony.

You know the drill here. It's more or less 10 minutes for your testimony. After that we'll follow with a series of questions and answers and make our way around the table. We try to end on time. Depending on the members, we do have sometimes some flexibility to go a tiny bit over in order to accommodate questions, but that will be at the discretion of members. We'll see how that goes.

Can I turn the floor over to you?

[Susan Gregson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Asia, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Thank you very much for inviting the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development to contribute to your study on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

I have with me today, Jeff Nankivell, Director General for Development, Asia, and Deborah Chatsis, Director for South Asia Relations. We will be happy to respond to any questions from the committee following my opening statement.

As you know, Prime Minister Harper did not attend last week's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or CHOGM, in Sri Lanka. In 2011, Canada joined Commonwealth consensus to accept Sri Lanka's bid to host the 2013 CHOGM. However, Prime Minister Harper laid down conditions for his attendance, and we were hopeful that the Sri Lankan government would improve human rights conditions and take steps towards reconciliation and accountability. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. The human rights situation remains poor and is deteriorating in many ways.

Since the end of the nearly three-decade civil conflict in 2009, Sri Lanka has made obvious progress in reconstruction and infrastructure development. Atrocities associated with the war, such as the massive displacement of citizens, have ceased, and the government has resettled more than 300,000 internally displaced persons. However, while the Government of Sri Lanka won the war, it has not yet won the peace; it has not attempted tangible and sustainable reconciliation, and we fear that this failure exposes all Sri Lankans to the danger of renewed strife and suffering.

We continue to urge the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of its own Commission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, LLRC. Prior to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay's August 2013 mission to Sri Lanka, the government announced some measures to demonstrate progress towards reconciliation, including adding new LLRC recommendations to its national plan of action and appointing a commission to investigate wartime disappearances. We fear, however, that because of the clear lack of follow-through these and other recent announcements were largely cosmetic and timed ahead of Pillay's visit and CHOGM.

We welcomed the provincial council elections in September, including the historic ballot in the Northern province, but were disturbed by efforts at intimidation leading up to these elections, and are discouraged by a continuing lack of commitment to real devolution of power to councils.

There continue to be two distinct areas of focus for the international community in terms of human rights in Sri Lanka. First are credible allegations of violations of human rights by both the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, and government forces during the conflict, and second are ongoing violations of human rights since 2009.

On the first point, Canada continues to urge Sri Lanka to establish an independent investigation into alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed by both sides during the conflict. This was a key element of the March 2013 Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka, which Canada co-sponsored.

Unfortunately, the Government of Sri Lanka continues to oppose these calls, even last week as it hosted CHOGM. High Commissioner Pillay's report to the Human Rights Council in September noted that she detected no new or comprehensive effort to independently or credibly investigate these allegations. She encouraged Sri Lankan authorities to engage in a credible national process with tangible results before the council considers the implementation of this year's resolution at its March 2014 session.

With regard to post-war human rights, during her visit, Pillay heard complaints about the continuing high levels of harassment and intimidation meted out to human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists. Voices of protest and dissent have been silenced by arrest, detention, and even abduction in white vans.

Parliamentary Secretary Obhrai heard this last week, as did Senator Hugh Segal, Canada's special envoy to the Commonwealth, during his fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka in March 2013. Freedoms of expression and association are violated and the space for political dissent continues to shrink. According to Reporters Without Borders, Sri Lanka is among the most dangerous countries for journalists, ranked 162nd in its press freedom index. Government inaction to protect dissenting voices results in self-censorship in mainstream media.

Regrettably, we are also observing growing intolerance of and violence against religious communities, and again a lack of action against perpetrators. This includes attacks on the places of worship and business belonging to minority religious communities, and increasingly violent pressure against Muslim communities.

On August 10, a mob, including Buddhist monks, attacked a mosque in Grandpass, resulting in injuries, but no immediate arrests. Violence against Christian churches and worshippers is also on the rise, with no serious government efforts to prevent or punish attacks.

Andrew Bennett, Canada's Ambassador of Religious Freedom, has been active in raising our concerns.

The government's inaction and tacit support of a culture of impunity have badly damaged the rule of law and democracy. Of particular concern is the January 2013 dismissal of Chief Justice Bandaranayake following a highly politicized impeachment process that lacked basic transparency and respect for due process. The impeachment is a high-profile example of the Sri Lankan government's failure to uphold the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles setting out the relationship between the three branches of government.

High Commissioner Pillay confirmed that sexual violence remains a major concern both in terms of its scope and its systematic nature. Violence against women in northern Sri Lanka is on the rise, especially since 2009, and war widows are particularly disadvantaged. Other vulnerable groups, such as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered persons, particularly activists, face harassment and intimidation, sometimes by authorities. In the lead-up to CHOGM, LGBT activists were threatened with arrest if they continued their advocacy activities.

Economic pressures on most families are increasing as the price of essential commodities rises. According to the International Labour Organization, Sri Lanka had the fastest-growing income inequality in Asia in 2012. Of particular concern is the militarization of a number of economic and social sectors to the detriment of local economies and long-term development. Yet the Government of Sri Lanka continues to refuse to engage constructively with the international community, as we saw last week at CHOGM. Perhaps most astonishing were the unconscionable public attacks by Sri Lankan officials on the professionalism and objectivity of High Commissioner Pillay during her mission, and their almost immediate rejection of her report.

At the end of her mission to Sri Lanka, Ms. Pillay described Sri Lanka as “heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction”. A prominent Sri Lankan observer has described the situation as the government's failure to bring its country out of a “post-war” context and into a “post-conflict” one. The lack of tangible reconciliation and accountability since 2009, as well as continuing violations of human rights and the rule of law, will continue to be key concerns for Canada and the international community. That said, it is not too late for the Government of Sri Lanka to change direction, engage in a genuine process of reconciliation, and build a united country in which all Sri Lankans can live in freedom and security.

My department will continue to closely monitor the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and engage with the international community and the Government of Sri Lanka to promote real and much-needed progress.

Canada is not alone in expressing concerns. Other foreign governments, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and international jurists are among those also unsatisfied with the lack of evidence of improvements since the terrible conflict ended. Canada's principled foreign policy requires that necessary actions match words.

Thank you very much for your attention. Merci beaucoup.

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

Thank you, Ms. Gregson.

Our witness has mentioned that she has other people with her, and in the event a question is better answered by another of the witnesses, she may ask them to come to the table. I told her that would be okay.

Colleagues, we have time for seven-minute rounds of questions.

We have something brand new here. I have a new app on my phone, which you can all see, right? I'll be announcing when you have one minute left, but you can keep track of it yourselves with this. It will be facing toward you.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

You just have to remember to turn it on.

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

That's right.

Having said that, we will start with Mr. Sweet.

Please begin, sir.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I hope you reset that.

Thank you very much, Ms. Gregson, for your testimony.

You mentioned High Commissioner Pillay and the attacks the Sri Lankan government had upon her, public verbal attacks anyway, and then they subsequently dismissed her report. I notice also that eight hours ago the BBC had a report of their total dismissal of any of Prime Minister Cameron's comments while he was criticizing their human rights record. They not only dismissed everything he said, but then they criticized his terrible breaches of protocol when he made the unconscionable decision to go up to the north to see exactly what kind of human rights infractions were being made.

My concern with this regime in Sri Lanka right now is that they will continue this, where they feel everybody else is wrong and they're totally right. You mentioned the people who were persecuted, which is just about everybody: the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered community; Christians; human rights defenders; Muslims; reporters. It seems no one can be safe around them if they disagree.

[Susan Gregson]

Thank you for your comments.

In fact these are areas of immense concern for the government. We understand that much of the population is so relieved by the conflict ending they're not really looking at issues of human rights.

Of course the minority communities and those groups that are affected are very concerned, and they do bring it to the attention of those of us in the outside world who are willing to listen and provide assistance. We provide programming assistance to NGOs in Sri Lanka in order to try to influence opinion and to effect some change. We'd be happy to talk further about those efforts, if you're interested.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

You mentioned in your testimony the shrinkage in public space for dissent. That's what I really want to focus in on.

I mentioned all the groups you talked about in your testimony who are being really persecuted. In many cases they fear for their lives; they fear being picked up in white vans. In what other ways do we see this...?

You're saying that still the majority feels this relief. Are they not seeing this wanton lack of justice on behalf of their government?

[Susan Gregson]

It's certainly something we try to raise with the Government of Sri Lanka at every opportunity.

One area I mentioned earlier was self-censorship of the media, for example. Quite often these issues are not even in the public sphere for public discussion, as it were. Some journalists have been threatened and have left the country. Others exercise self-censorship so that they can avoid these kinds of attacks. So I guess there's a question about how much information is out there in the public domain for people to look at.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

What about the efforts of the Sri Lankan government right now in reparations in the north, where there was damage to personal property—households, etc.—in the conflict? Is there reconstruction happening? Has it diminished and the human rights infractions have increased?

[Deborah Chatsis, Director, South Asia Relations, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

From what I understand, there has been some reconstruction in the north. I would say, though, that many people have said it has not been to the benefit of the communities in the north—the Tamil communities—and a lot of the buildings are government controlled in some manner or another. So it is happening, but it is not benefiting all of the communities.

[Susan Gregson]

Perhaps I could just add to that. We're also concerned about the confusion between military and civil authorities. The military are also responsible for urban construction and so have taken over many of the functions that would normally be assigned to the public service. This has also led to some sense of insecurity on the part of many of the Tamils residing in the north, particularly the war widows, of which there are some 40,000.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

There are 40,000 war widows.

You mentioned in your testimony, I believe, that there was some intimidation already beginning in the upcoming elections. Are both sides, the LTTE as well as the government, involved in this campaign? Do we have any idea of who's responsible?

[Susan Gregson]

For violence with regard to the upcoming elections?

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

For any intimidation that's happening, yes.

[Susan Gregson]

I'm sorry, I'll have to get back to you, Mr. Sweet, with regard to that question.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Do you sense there's any receptivity at all? Of course, I don't, certainly when I read this BBC news report. Is there receptivity at all of having an international forum and investigation on reconciliation in Sri Lanka?

[Susan Gregson]

It's an area that we urge the Sri Lankan government to take up on a regular basis. It's one of the commitments they have made. But, unfortunately, any criticism of the current government from the outside world, including Canada, is portrayed as coming from sympathizers to the LTTE.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

That's surprising to me, considering this government was very clear on the position of the LTTE and the fact that it was doing terrorist acts, and was of course actually even getting funding here in Canada. What's the justification for that? A partner that was already against any kind of terrorism that they were dealing with now wants to see truth and reconciliation transpire.

[Susan Gregson]

Well, I think the motivation is just to create a sense that they are under attack. Again, the government does enjoy popularity because of having ended the conflict. That's just what we're seeing.

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Scott Reid]

Mr. Marston, it's your turn.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the officials for the comprehensive information they're giving us. But it is disheartening to hear. We have observed in many different countries that when people in government wish to abuse their own folks, they point to someone else as being the cause of their problems. What I'm hearing today is that the situation, in terms of human rights, may well be worse than during the war, or at least close to that, and it's very, very troubling.

One thing I took note of is that there seems to be a similarity between the Buddhists attacking the Christians and the Muslims, it seems, to what we're hearing happening in Burma. There's a situation where the Buddhist community seems to be going on the offensive there. Is this something that's common in that part of the world? Or are there just two completely different sets of reasons for it?

[Susan Gregson]

Well, I would be speculating. I think that every country has its own particular situation, and both Burma and Sri Lanka have emerged from very difficult periods that lasted several decades.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

You mentioned the gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transsexuals. It sounds like a common denominator in this. Anybody who's activist-based in their thinking and in their actions just comes under automatic attack. I'm not so sure it's because of their sexual orientation at all as much as just activism. At least that's my read of what I'm hearing. Would you agree with that?