A/HRC/44/50/Add.1 fragile yet important institutions that safeguard their democratic rights, and a shift back to media restrictions, governmental opacity and a climate that requires selfcensorship. This must not be allowed to happen. 91. While national legislation adequately protects the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association for the most part, the unequal application of the laws, including informal refusal to enact laws at an administrative level, seriously affects the enjoyment of these rights. Ethnic and religious discrimination, mistrust in State authorities and the heavy militarization of certain areas must be immediately tackled in order to fully realize the enjoyment of human rights in the country. Furthermore, if perpetrators of gross human rights violations are permitted to enjoy and profit from a climate of impunity, it will serve to undermine people’s confidence in State institutions and jeopardize the country’s progress towards sustainable democracy and development. 92. The vital role that civil society plays in the promotion of democracy, providing checks and guidance on governmental actions in the promotion of universal human rights standards, must be nurtured. Civil society is a necessary and essential conduit for the voice of the people, and civil society actors must strive to work together in a coherent fashion in order to ensure that they adequately fulfil their role. Their actions have been instrumental in the widening of democratic space that the country has experienced since 2015, and they will continue to be instrumental in the fight to maintain and increase those gains. 93. More must also be done on social cohesion to unite people and communities, embracing their differences and rebuilding trust in order to work towards the full enjoyment of human rights for all in Sri Lanka. First steps towards this must necessarily include the even application and rule of law, an end to impunity, and meaningful transitional justice and reconciliation processes, in line with the commitments of the Government of Sri Lanka as contained in Human Rights Council resolution 30/1. B. Recommendations 94. The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government: (a) Ratify and implement the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty; (b) Undertake a review of the Constitution with a view to extending the fundamental rights contained therein to all those under the Government’s jurisdiction, including migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and other non-citizens, as per the requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; (c) Consider repealing article 16 of the Constitution, which forbids judicial review of existing legislation that violates the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and other fundamental rights; (d) Ensure non-discriminatory application of legislation across communities, including ethnic, religious, LGBTQI+ and other groups, undertaking review of such legislation in order to prevent its discriminatory use, and providing guidelines to law enforcement on the application of legislation that might be prone to misuse; (e) Complete its review and repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, replacing it instead with legislation that is fully compliant with international human rights norms and standards, in continued consultation with civil society; implement the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism with regard to the draft Counter-terrorism Act, and immediately establish a moratorium on the use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act for new arrests until it is repealed; 16