UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD OHCHR will hold a follow-up event to enable NHRIs in the region to discuss joint action that needs to be taken on climate change, and the Office will prepare and release a publication on human rights and climate change in the Asia-Pacific region. The Office also produced a compilation of key recommendations issued by international human rights mechanisms in relation to countries in Asia. The compilation will be used as a mapping document and disseminated as an advocacy tool and will be complemented by trainings for NHRIs and CSOs at the regional level to strengthen participants’ capacity in monitoring and advocating for economic, social and cultural rights, including land, health and housing, and in the context of climate change. Mechanisms (M) M1 – In six countries, National Mechanisms for Reporting and Follow-up (NMRFs) are established or strengthened; they report to the treaty bodies and implement recommendations made by all human rights mechanisms. The Office contributed to the strengthening of NMRFs and the overall engagement of the Governments of Lao PDR and Thailand with the international human rights mechanisms. OHCHR consistently advocated for the submission of overdue State Party reports, and Lao PDR was reviewed by three treaty bodies within a period of six months (Human Rights Committee, CRC and CEDAW). The Office has worked closely with the diplomatic community and its UN partners to integrate advocacy for treaty body reporting into their discussions with the Government. 274 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 UN HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIELD M2 – The AICHR has more capacity and is fulfilling its protection mandate. The Office contributed to enhancing the capacity of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) by supporting thematic areas of work and by providing technical support to an AICHR study on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation. In May, the Regional Office, together with the Resident Coordinator in Indonesia, led a delegation of 10 UN agencies to meet with AICHR during their annual consultation in Jakarta. The meeting’s objective was to identify thematic areas of common interest on human rights for AICHR and relevant UN agencies and to explore possible areas of current and future technical cooperation. This was the first such official consultation between a group of UN agencies and AICHR. In addition, the Office provided support to a number of individual initiatives by AICHR Commissioners, notably two for Indonesia, including the AICHR High-Level Dialogue on Managing Freedom of Expression in the Information Age held in April, and the AICHR capacity building workshop on Article 14 of the ASEAN human rights declaration in August. In November, as part of a broader initiative led by AICHR Malaysia on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, OHCHR provided technical support to a second thematic activity, building on the recommendations that were made during the initial 2017 workshop. M2 – Civil society organizations, national human rights institutions, and non-traditional actors, particularly those working on emerging human rights issues (frontier issues), increasingly engage with the international human rights mechanisms and use their outcomes. The Office contributed to the increased engagement of civil society organizations with the international human rights mechanisms in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. During the reporting period, CSOs working on Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam made submissions to several special procedures including Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, freedom of religion, situation of human rights defenders, torture; the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the Working Group on Business and Human Rights and others. The Office facilitated increased engagement by the UNCT, CSOs and the National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia with various international human rights mechanisms. This engagement took place during the review by CEDAW in February, during the UPR review in November, and in the context of country visits to Malaysia by the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children in September, and the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation in November. will function as a truth and reconciliation commission. The concept is in the process of being translated into draft legislation. Despite OHCHR’s continued advocacy in its reports to the Human Rights Council, no progress was made in 2018 to establish a special court in accordance with resolution 30/1. SRI LANKA Population size1 Surface area1 Human Development Index2 NHRI (if applicable)3 20.95 million 66,000 km² 0.770 (rank: 76/188 in 2016) Status A, 2018 Type of engagement Human Rights Adviser Year established 2004 Field office(s) Colombo UN partnership framework United Nations Sustainable Development Framework 2018-2022 Staff as of 31 December 2018 4 XB requirements 2018 US$370,700 Peace and Security (PS) PS5 – The Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) operates as an early warning mechanism when the human rights situation deteriorates. The HRWG helps to integrate human rights approaches in specific programmes. Key OMP pillars in 2018 123 Please refer to Data sources and notes on p.191. KEY PILLAR RESULTS: OHCHR aimed to support UN entities in incorporating rights-based approaches in their programmes. Accountability (A) A2 – Fulfilling Human Rights Council resolution 30/1, Sri Lanka implements a comprehensive transitional justice strategy that is victim-oriented, gender-sensitive and complies with international human rights standards. It establishes an Office for Missing Persons, a truth and reconciliation commission, a reparations programme and a credible special judicial accountability mechanism in which foreign experts participate. OHCHR sought to contribute to the establishment of accountability mechanisms that conform to international human rights standards. The High Commissioner’s report on “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights” to the Human Rights Council’s thirty-seventh session, in March, (A/HRC/37/23) reviewed the Government’s progress from March 2017 to January 2018 on the implementation of resolutions 30/1 and 34/1. Emphasis was placed on strengthening the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law and on the comprehensive recommendations that were issued regarding the judicial and non-judicial measures that are essential to advancing accountability and reconciliation. In preparation for the presentation of the High Commissioner’s report 40/1 to the Human Rights Council fortieth session, in March 2019, the Office and the Transitional Justice Adviser conducted visits to the north and east of Sri Lanka to assess any progress made on the implementation of the resolutions 30/1 and 34/1. In 2018, the Office on Missing Persons, a transitional justice mechanism, began operations with the support of OHCHR. In addition, legislation was adopted in the Parliament establishing a second mechanism, the Office for Reparations. The Cabinet approved a draft concept for a third transitional justice mechanism that Shifts: The HRWG met regularly during 2018, including as an ad hoc early warning tool during the riots that took place in Kandy, in March. During the political crisis of October and November, and in keeping with a focus on prevention, OHCHR deployed two staff members to monitor the impact of the political and constitutional crisis on human rights in Sri Lanka. The two staff members conducted field missions in all regions of Sri Lanka. PS6 – All Sri Lanka military or police personnel proposed for deployment in UN peacekeeping operations undergo a stringent screening process, led by civilians. With OHCHR technical support, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), the UN and the Government integrated international human rights norms, standards and principles into their work. Prevention UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 275