News
SC upholds Appeal Court ruling allowing deportation of asylum seekers
View(s):The Supreme Court this week rejected a petition to halt the deportation of Pakistani and Afghan asylum seekers, on the grounds that there were insufficient regulations to hear a petition of a non-citizen.
The three-member SC Bench upheld the ruling made by the Court of Appeal permitting the deportation of asylum seekers to their home countries, after considering a petition filed by six human rights workers who challenged the ruling.
The fundamental rights petition filed cited the Immigration Controller, the External Affairs Minister, the External Affairs Ministry Secretary, the Defence Minister, the Defence Secretary, the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General as respondents.
The petitioners stated that they were told by the UNHCR that over 240 persons were arrested by Immigration officials and that among those arrested were old and sick people and a minor.
The petitioners said that most of them are Pakistan and Afghanistan nationals while there are also other nationals who are seeking asylum.
They said most of the asylum seekers are Christians and Shia Muslims who have sought asylum in fear of persecution due to their religious beliefs.
However, the Counsel representing the State argued that Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and though it signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and United Nations Consolidated Appeals Process (UNCAP) convention, they have not been ratified by Parliament and thus cannot be applied to cases like this.