BRIEFING NOTES: (1) Ukraine; (2) Sri Lanka; (3) Ecuador

Spokesperson For The UN High Commissioner For Human Rights: Ravina Shamdasani

Location: Geneva

Date: 25 February 2022

Subject: (1) Ukraine

(2) Sri Lanka

(3) Ecuador

1) Ukraine

We are gravely concerned about developments over the course of the day yesterday and overnight in Ukraine. We are receiving increasing reports of civilian casualties.

Civilians are terrified of further escalation, with many attempting to flee their homes and others taking shelter where possible. As the High Commissioner has warned, the military action by the Russian Federation clearly violates international law. It puts at risk countless lives and it must be immediately halted.

The High Commissioner stresses that States that fail to take all reasonable measures to settle their international disputes by peaceful means fall short of complying with their obligation to protect the right to life. We urge full respect for international humanitarian law and international human right law.

We are also disturbed by the multiple arbitrary arrests of demonstrators in Russia who were protesting against war yesterday. We understand more than 1,800 protesters were arrested. It is unclear whether some have now been released.

Arresting individuals for exercising their rights to freedom of expression or of peaceful assembly constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty. We call on the authorities to ensure the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained for exercising these rights.

Our UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission remains in Ukraine and will continue to closely monitor and report on the situation.

2) Sri Lanka

In a new report* for the UN Human Rights Council on developments in Sri Lanka since last year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet recognizes recent steps taken to initiate reforms but expresses deep concern over a number of human rights trends in the country.

While we recognize the renewed willingness of the Government of Sri Lanka to engage constructively with our Office, including in the preparation of the report, we urge the Government to go much further with the legal, institutional and security sector reforms necessary to comply with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations.

In the past year, we have observed setbacks to accountability for past human rights violations and recognition of victims’ rights. The High Commissioner highlights particularly the continuing precarious situation of the families of the disappeared – the majority of whom are represented by women. We urge the Government to acknowledge their sufferings, urgently determine the fate or whereabouts of victims, provide reparations, and bring perpetrators to justice.

The report also highlights continuing trends toward militarization and ethno-religious nationalism that undermine democratic institutions, increase the anxiety of minorities, and impede reconciliation.

The pattern of surveillance and harassment by security forces of civil society organizations, human rights defenders, journalists and victims highlighted in previous reports has also continued, particularly in the country’s north and east.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) Amendment Bill, which was presented to Parliament on 10 February, is an important initial step. The High Commissioner welcomes the proposed increase of magistrates’ powers to visit places of detention, the speeding up of trials and the repeal of section 14 which imposes serious limitations on publications.

However, other proposed amendments do not comply fully with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations and leave intact some of the most problematic provisions of the PTA, which have led to alleged human rights violations, including arbitrary detention and and torture.

While we welcome the release since June of more than 80 suspects detained under the PTA, we urge the authorities to impose a moratorium on continued use of the law.

Sri Lanka will only achieve sustainable development and peace and lasting reconciliation if it ensures civic space, independent and inclusive institutions, and puts an end to systemic impunity.

* Written update on Sri Lanka (A/HRC/49/9): OHCHR | Session49 49th regular session of the Human Rights Council: Reports

3) Ecuador

We welcome the positive steps taken this week towards prison reform in Ecuador, where about 300 people have been killed in prison violence in the last year and the prison population has tripled in 13 years.

On Monday, President Guillermo Lasso launched a new public policy on social rehabilitation aimed at guaranteeing access to basic rights for prisoners, among them the rights to health, food, water, education, and work. The new policy was developed with significant technical support from the UN Human Rights Office and UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and in consultation with a large cross-section of Ecuadorian society, among them government agencies, academics, non-governmental organizations, human rights defenders, and, crucially, the families of prisoners and prisoners themselves.

The President also ordered the release of some 5,000 prisoners as part of an early release programme, in a bid to reduce prison overcrowding.

We hope the new policy will be implemented to help shift Ecuador’s prison system away from over-reliance on punitive measures and towards crime prevention and to bring it into compliance with international human rights standards. We also hope this policy will inspire reform in other countries in the region facing similar challenges. We welcome these changes and call on the Ecuadorian authorities to ensure dedicated capacity is made available to enable implementation of the new policy. We also take this occasion to reiterate our call for prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into all deaths and serious injuries in custody. The victims and their families have a right to justice, truth, and reparations.

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