Secretary General of the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS) Jan Joergensen declared that refusal indicated that Sri Lanka has something to hide. The Sri Lankan ambassador to Scandinavia SA David denies refusing visas. He says the delegation was advised to visit when Foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was present. Mr Kadirgamar was scheduled to attend the 9th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on 12 May in the Maldives.
NOAS Secretary General and his deputy eventually made a ten-day visit to Colombo and Vavuniya concluding that the situation remained unstable and complex but not ruling out return of refused asylum-seekers to the island.
Participating in a conference arranged by Norway’s Christian Michaelson Institute titled Conflict in Sri Lanka: Human rights situation and refugees, on 28 May in Bergen, UNHCR’s representative Hiromitsu Mori said that Sri Lanka has achieved dramatic improvement in human rights and it was now safe to return asylum-seekers. Sri Lankan human rights activist Charles Abeysekera asserted that both parties to the conflict lacked commitment to human rights and UNHCR was doing a disservice by recommending refugee returns.
International Bar Association President Desmond Fernando dismisses claims of improvement in human rights. Despite government promise, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights remains unratified.
Mr Fernando has raised doubts over the commitment of those appointed to the new Human Rights Commission. Others say uncertainty over the future of the Human Rights Task Force since the Commission’s appointment has lowered morale and has affected its work badly.
Mr Fernando points out that Sri Lanka has failed in its international obligations by continuing to allow Special Presidential Commissions even after UN Human Rights Committee’s strong advice to repeal the relevant law as the Presidential Commissions do not conform to the basic principles of fairness.