How a human rights law became a tool of repression in Sri Lanka - Himal Southasian

The ICCPR Act, modelled on an international human rights treaty meant to prohibit national, racial and religious hatred, has been distorted in Sri Lanka to punish blasphemy and target minorities

The recent arrest of the YouTuber Sepal Amarasinghe has drawn attention to Sri Lanka's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act. Amarasinghe is accused of making disparaging comments about the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, which many Buddhists venerate. His arrest is not the first time the ICCPR Act has been deployed to punish speech deemed to be offensive to Buddhism. In 2019, the writer Shakthika Sathkumara was similarly arrested for publishing a fictional short story titled ' Ardha' ('Half'). The story was considered offensive to Buddhism and the Buddhist clergy as it depicted sexual abuse in Buddhist temples.

Both Amarasinghe and Sathkumara were arrested under Section 3 of the ICCPR Act, while also facing other charges. This section is modelled on Article 20 of an international human rights treaty bearing the same name, to which Sri Lanka is party. How did a law that was originally crafted to protect human rights become a repressive tool to punish blasphemy in Sri Lanka?

In the aftermath of the Second World War, member states of the United Nations made commitments to prohibit hate speech that incited violence against people on the basis of their identity. The Holocaust taught the world that hate and propaganda against a community could lead to terrible consequences, including mass expulsion and genocide. This experience formed the backdrop to Article 20 of the ICCPR.

Article 20 (2) obliges states to prohibit the advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. In 2007, Sri Lanka attempted to fulfil its obligation as a signatory of the treaty by enacting Section 3 of the ICCPR Act. Despite being modelled on Article 20 (2), Section 3 of Sri Lanka's ICCPR Act contains serious weaknesses.

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