Colombo, Jan 13: Raising deep concerns, the UN Human Rights body has slammed Sri Lanka police’s ongoing operation to curb the narcotics menace and called on the government to reassess strategy with a human rights-based approach.
“We are very concerned that authorities in Sri Lanka are adopting a heavily security-based response to the country’s drugs problem, instead of public health policies grounded in human rights. A staggering 29,000 people have reportedly been arrested on drug related matters since December 17, with allegations that some have been subjected to ill-treatment and torture,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.
The statement came in the wake of Operation ‘Yukthiya’ (the Sinhala term for ‘justice’) launched on December 17 with a June 30 deadline to end the drug menace plaguing the island nation and arrest all the drug dealers.
Conceptualised by Public Security Minister Tiran Alles and overseen by acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon, thousands have been arrested since the launch of Operation Yukthiya since its launch. Despite its purported anti-narcotic aims, it has come under criticism for various reasons, local media reported.
The OHCHR statement, released in Geneva on Friday night, expressed grave concerns over alleged abuses of authority, torture, and the denial of due process and fair trial rights within the operation even as Turk insisted on thorough and impartial investigations into these allegations.
Security forces have reportedly conducted raids without search warrants, detaining suspected drug sellers and users, with hundreds sent to military-run rehabilitation centres, the statement claimed.
“During and after these operations, people are reported to have been subjected to a number of violations, including unauthorised searches, arbitrary arrests and detention, ill-treatment, torture, and strip searches in public. Lawyers acting for those detained have alleged that they have faced intimidation from police officers,” Turk said in the statement.
While drug use presents a serious challenge to society, a heavy-handed law enforcement approach is not the solution, the statement said and added, “Abuse of drugs and the factors that lead to it are first and foremost public health and social issues. People suspected of selling or trafficking drugs are entitled to humane treatment, with full respect for due process and transparent, fair trials.”
He urged the Sri Lankan government to review Operation Yukthiya and “to implement human rights based approaches, notably the right to health, in addressing the issues of illicit drugs in society.”
“Allegations of abuse of authority, torture and ill-treatment and denial of due process and fair trial rights must be thoroughly and impartially investigated, and justice must be served,” it said.
In 2023, the UN Human Rights Office issued a report calling on States to develop effective drug policies, including by considering the decriminalisation of drug use and the possession of drugs for personal use.
Sri Lanka’s own Human Rights Commission said they had received a number of complaints concerning torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and arbitrary arrests and detentions associated with ‘Yukthiya.’
“The operation has accordingly become associated with reports of widespread injustice, making its very title ‘Yukthiya’ a misnomer,” said a HRCSL statement. (PTI)
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