Recommendations A/HRC/33/51/Add.2 Situation during the visit A/HRC/33/51/Ad d.2 Measures taken/current situation Level of implementation and observations (to be completed by the WGEID) contributed to the high incidence of missing and disappeared persons in Sri Lanka.36 The OMP recommended that a number of safeguards be included to protect against arbitrary detention in the proposed Bill.37 Amnesty The PTA has not yet been repealed. Sri Lanka has proposed a draft “Counter Terrorism Act” in September 2018. Although the Bill improves on some aspects of the draconian measures in the PTA, there are many provisions in the current Bill which give cause for alarm. These include:  Ambiguity on critical definitions of what constitutes an offence of terrorism;  Detention without charge for up to one year;  Detention for up to 14 days without access to a court of law;  Interrogation of suspects without access to legal representation;  Prosecutorial and judicial discretion to impose sanctions prior to a full and fair trial, flouting the suspect’s presumption of innocence;  The lack of a time-bound requirement to convey critical information to the suspect at the time of arrest or soon after;  The ability for officers or members of the armed forces or a coast guard officer to be able to make arrests without warrant;  Excessively long periods for arresting officers to transport suspects to the nearest Police station;  Makes no presumption in favour of bail when a person is detained;  Allows for bulk interception and decryption of electronic communication;  Permits senior police officers to place arbitrary restrictions on movement and prohibitions on the public when an overly vague offence under the Bill is likely to be committed;  Paves the way for the President to be able to make arbitrary curfew orders. See Amnesty International commentary on the bill38 andublic statement39. 37 38 33 39 Final Report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, 163-5, 341; Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or Disappearance of Persons the Western, Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces, Sessional Paper No. V (1997) 75-76, 111-116, 173-175; Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Involuntary Disappearance of Certain Persons (All Island) Sessional Paper No-1 (2001) 21, 22, 23; Final Report of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms Volume 1 (2016), 423, 428. See Office on Missing Persons, Annual Report (2019), para 2.18. (OMP Annual Report) https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/ASA3797702019ENGLISH.PDF https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/ASA3797692019ENGLISH.PDF A/HRC/42/40/Add.1 36