Sri Lanka Denies Nowak's UN Report on Torture

Colombo - Sri Lanka denied Tuesday that Sri Lanka's police and military commit widespread torture and abuse, and said there was no need for an independent human rights body as claimed in a U.N. report by Mr.Manfred Nowak, the United Nations Special Rapporteaur on Torture and Human Rights Abuses.

"The government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy on torture and is closely studying Mr. Nowak's preliminary recommendation with a view to strengthening local institutional and legal frameworks to ensure strict adherence with that policy," the Sri Lankan human rights ministry statement said.

HR Minister Samarasinghe

"Alleged instances of torture over a five-year period was consistently less than 0.02 percent per year of arrests made," it said.

The high number of torture indictments filed by official bodies and the many complaints received by the National Human Rights Commission on the island "indicates that torture is widely practiced in Sri Lanka", Nowak said on his report to the UN on Monday.

The Sri Lankan Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said there was no need for an independent human rights body, but that the Human Rights Commission was not effective because of a lack of funds and personnel.

"We have asked the U.N to help us strengthen the local capacity. That's the only durable solution," Samarasinghe said.

Sir John Holmes United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under Secretary General of Humanitarian Affairs, end of his fact finding mission to Sri Lanka early last month said, "Sri Lanka is among the most dangerous places on earth for humanitarian workers, and called on the government to probe civil war abuses and consider an international rights monitoring mission."

The Sri Lankan government rejected UN's claim and denied security forces involvements in the rights abuses of civilians and rejected calls for a United Nations rights monitoring mission.

Sir John Holmes was subjected to scathing verbal attacks in Sri Lanka for his comments from media, politicians and ministers in Sri Lanka and some minister calling him as “Terrorist” and he accused him as he took bribe from the rebels to make such a comment against Sri Lanka.

A state paper called the Sir John Holmes, a liar; a high profile minister called Sir John Holmes a "Terrorist" and accused him he is on the payroll of the Tamil rebels, while the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka condemned the UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

The escalating violence in Sri Lanka, over thousands have been abducted, over 5,742 people were killed including 59 aid workers, at least 10 journalists while made close to 500,000 people internally displaced (IDP) in the North and East of Sri Lanka within past two years.