SRI LANKA: NEW HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION CHAIR - A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000020 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PTER CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: NEW HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION CHAIR - A MISSED OPPORTUNITY REF: A) 2006 COLOMBO 1580 B) 2006 COLOMBO 553 Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE, JR. FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and ( d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: President Rajapaksa has named former Sri Lankan Supreme Court justice Anandacoomaraswamy chair of the national Human Rights Commission (HRC),circumventing a constitutional requirement that an independent council appoint the heads of national commissions. Sri Lanka's human rights community criticized the manner of the appointment. Our human rights contacts have also privately questioned Anandacoomaraswamy's independence and ability. Human Rights Minister Samarasinghe told Ambassador on January 4 that the government intended to revive the Constitutional Council, but that the President would continue to have the final word in naming commission chairs. Samarasinghe thought that Anandacoomaraswamy would, in any case, likely remain on the HRC as a member, if not as its chair. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) On December 20, former Sri Lankan Supreme Court justice Sivaramalingam Anandacoomaraswamy took office as chair of Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission (HRC). President Rajapaksa selected Anandacoomaraswamy to replace P. Ramanathan, who had chaired the HRC for just six months prior to his recent demise. Anandacoomaraswamy reportedly received a letter of appointment on December 19 and took up his post the following day. There was no prior public announcement of his selection. Sri Lankan media reported Anandacoomaraswamy's appointment was a surprise even to him. ¶3. (C) In appointing Anandacoomaraswamy, President Rajapaksa again circumvented Article 17 of the Sri Lankan constitution which requires a Constitutional Council of ten persons to appoint heads of independent commissions including the HRC. The Council currently has nine members. The tenth appointment has been held up by a long-running dispute between the Marxist, Sinhalese nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as to which group should have the prerogative of naming the last member (ref B). Rather than making a decision on the tenth member, or permitting the body to function with a quorum, President Rajapaksa has independently appointed heads of several commissions, including the National Police and Anti-Bribery Commissions as well as the HRC. Local NGOs and human rights activists have strongly criticized the President for bypassing the Constitution and for appointing cronies who they believe will not adequately investigate allegations of government misconduct (ref A). ¶4. (C) Anandacoomaraswamy faces similar criticism. In a conversation with Emboff, a consultant to the Asia Foundation and former consultant to the HRC said, "Anandacoomaraswamy is a good friend of mine, and I feel very sorry he has accepted this appointment, knowing it is a political appointment... the HRC is full of people appointed by the President, and Anandacoomaraswamy will not be able to function independently." In a separate discussion, the chair of the respected think tank Center for Policy Alternatives said, "People will not be very impressed. Anandacoomaraswamy was a judge with little dynamism. He is old, has no creativity, and was not a champion of human rights when he was on the bench." One attorney told us, "He has no backbone; he can be bulldozed by people... when he was chairman of the Bribery Commission, he was like a puppet and that office was run like a political office." ¶5. (C) In a January 4 meeting with Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Ambassador noted his disappointment that the president had circumvented the Constitutional Council. Samarainghe said the government is working with the opposition United National Party (UNP),under the MoU on cooperation between the two major parties, to get the council COLOMBO 00000020 002 OF 002 functioning once more. Samarasinghe said the presidentially appointed commission chairs may turn out effectively to be interim appointments. However, he stated that the Constitutional Council would have the final decision but might eventually validate the president's choices, suggesting that Rajapaksa had the ultimate authority to select a choice from a list the Council prepared. Samarasinghe noted that the HRC has five members, and even if Anandacoomaraswamy does not retain the chairmanship, he may stay on as a member. ¶6. (SBU) Brief biography of Sivaramalingam Anandacoomaraswamy (source: GSL) 2006- Chairman, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka 1999-04 Chairman, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption 1996-99 Member, Council of Legal Education 1996-98 Member, Judicial Service Commission 1966-98 Appointed Judicial Officer of Sri Lanka Judicial Service and served as Magistrate, District Judge, High Court Judge, Judge of the Court of Appeal, President of the Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court Justice 1960 Admitted and enrolled as Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon Academic Qualifications: Master of Laws, Colombo, Sri Lanka ¶7. (C) COMMENT: According to our reading of the Sri Lankan constitution's 17th amendment, the Constitutional Council itself appoints chairs of independent commissions and so notifies the president. The President does not have the final word. Samarasinghe's comments to us are an indication the President intends to retain a strong hand in selecting the chairs of national commissions. However, Rajapaksa's appointments to date have eroded public faith in the independence and viability of the HRC, National Police Commission, Anti-Bribery Commission, and National Child Protection Authority. We will continue to urge the GSL and the UNP to move quickly to reconstitute the Constitutional Council, which can then appoint chairs who will restore public confidence in these institutions. It is likely that the President would not, in fact, be able to override the recommendations of a fully functional Constitutional Council (which helps explain Rajapaksa's relative lack of enthusiasm for reviving it). In the meantime, the acting commission chairs are unlikely to carry out their mandates in a way that will dispel public doubts about their independence and integrity. BLAKE