{"id":14779,"date":"2013-01-15T06:03:36","date_gmt":"2013-01-15T11:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=14779"},"modified":"2013-01-15T06:03:36","modified_gmt":"2013-01-15T11:03:36","slug":"beheading-of-rizana-nafeek-by-saudi-arabian-authorities-strongly-condemned-by-sections-of-sri-lankan-civil-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=14779","title":{"rendered":"Beheading of Rizana Nafeek by Saudi Arabian Authorities Strongly Condemned by Sections of Sri Lankan Civil Society"},"content":{"rendered":"

W<\/strong>e, the undersigned, condemn in the strongest terms the beheading of Rizana Nafeek \u2013 the Sri Lankan domestic migrant worker convicted aged 17 in 2005, for the accidental death of an infant \u2013 in Saudi Arabia on the morning of 09 January 2013.<\/p>\n

We are shocked at the decision of Saudi Arabia\u2019s Interior Ministry, under Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, to expedite and carry out Nafeek\u2019s execution despite repeated appeals by the Government of Sri Lanka, local civil society, the international human rights community, and members of her family.
\n
\nWe express our sincere condolences to the family of Rizana Nafeek in this time of national grief, and call upon the Government of Sri Lanka to swiftly extend them assistance in dealing with the aftermath of this tragedy.<\/p>\n

We deplore the inadequacy of the Sri Lankan embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the lethargy of relevant state authorities including, but not limited to, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, to assist Rizana Nafeek during the process of arrest, detention and court trial which she underwent without suitable legal counsel and proper interpretation; and the anaemic efforts of the authorities to obtain her release and safe return to Sri Lanka during her seven years on death row.<\/p>\n

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1996 which categorically states that no child shall be subjected to torture and that neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release can be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age.<\/p>\n

We denounce the Government of Saudi Arabia for reneging its duties and commitment under the Child Rights Convention to protect all children under its jurisdiction without discrimination on any grounds and for sentencing a child of 17 years to death.<\/p>\n

We consider Rizana\u2019s seven years of imprisonment, prior to execution, as ongoing psychological torture.<\/p>\n

The Convention on the Rights of the Child also guarantees that any child accused of committing an offence is guaranteed legal or other appropriate assistance in the preparation and presentation of their defence, not be compelled to confess guilt, and to have the free assistance of an interpreter if the child cannot understand or speak the language used.<\/p>\n

We call to account the Saudi Arabian police authorities which failed to provide the underage Rizana Nafeek with legal assistance and interpretation facilities when obtaining a confession and during Nafeek\u2019s first appearance in Court when she was warned to repeat the confession, which she later withdrew as having been made under duress.<\/p>\n

We demand that the Sri Lankan government enact and implement laws and policies on international labour migration which ensure the adequate protection of all migrant workers, especially women domestic migrant workers, as set out in the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families which Sri Lanka ratified in 1995.<\/p>\n

All agreements signed with host country governments should be legally binding and include the human and labour rights of all migrant workers in keeping with the provisions, obligations, and spirit of the Migrant Workers Convention.<\/p>\n

We demand changes in law and policy on human trafficking to strengthen the regulatory framework of foreign employment agencies, expand the definition of trafficking, and impose severe penalties on all those who engage in this heinous trade.<\/p>\n

The Government of Sri Lanka should immediately summon the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Colombo to formally protest the death of Rizana Nafeek; it should ban labour migration to Saudi Arabia and other countries which do not adhere to international human rights and labour standards, and are not willing to enter into legally binding agreements regarding the protection of migrant workers, and incorporate those rights in their domestic legal system.<\/p>\n

At least now, late as it is, the Government of Sri Lanka should proactively resolve the situation of Sri Lankan migrant workers languishing in detention camps and prisons across all host countries, including in Saudi Arabia, some of whom are also under sentence of death.<\/p>\n

We urge local and international stakeholders in the labour migration process including governments, private employment agencies, national human rights institutions, and civil society organisations, to combine their efforts to protect the rights of migrant workers, ensure their equal and humane treatment, and stop trafficking, to avert future miscarriages of justice such as the judicial killing of Rizana Nafeek on 9 January 2013.<\/p>\n

Endorsed By:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bishop Kumara Illangasinghe
\nRev. Dr. Jayasiri Peiris
\nFr. Samuel J Ponniah
\nAbdullah Muhsin
\nAnushaya Collure
\nAshila Niroshini Mapalagama
\nAsian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
\nB. Skanthakumar
\nBalachandran Gowthaman
\nBuddhima Padmasiri
\nCentre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD)
\nCentre for Policy Alternatives (CPA)
\nChelvy Premarajah
\nChulanee Attanayake
\nCyril Raj
\nDebbie Philip
\nDilhara Pathirana
\nDinesha Samararatne
\nDushinka Abayasekara
\nElisha Fernando
\nEqual Ground (EQ)
\nFaizer Khan
\nFarzana Haniffa
\nFlorine Marzook
\nFrancis Solomantine
\nH.M.P.Sanjeewanie
\nHarith de Mel
\nHarsh Kapoor \/ South Asia Citizens Web
\nHarshani Connel
\nHasantha Gunaweera
\nHemantha Withanage
\nHenry De Mel
\nHerman Kumara
\nHuman Development Organisation (HDO)
\nHussain Faiz
\nInstitute for Social Development (ISD)
\nIthayarani Sithiravel
\nJanaki Dharmasena
\nJanawaboda Kendraya (JK)
\nJoel Benedict
\nK.S.Ratnavale
\nKaleel Ilmudeen
\nKamani Dissanayake
\nKeshini Dias
\nKishali Pinto-Jayawardena
\nKishanthini Balan
\nKugathasan Aingkaran
\nLakshan Dias
\nMahaluxumi Kurushanthan
\nMala Liyanage
\nManel Fernando
\nMangala Shanker
\nMannar Women\u2019s Development Federation (MWDF)
\nMelani Manel Perera
\nMelanie Wirekoon
\nMigrant Forum in Asia (MFA)
\nMiyuru Gunasinghe
\nMuslim Women\u2019s Research and Action Forum (MWRAF)
\nN.D.K.B. Navaratne
\nNafiya Khalik
\nNairanjala Arulandhy
\nNalaka Weerasooriya
\nNasser Hussain
\nNew Environmental Resources Alliance (New ERA)
\nNilani Manthrinayake
\nNilantha Ilangamuwa (Editor, Sri Lanka Guardian)
\nP. P. Sivapragasam
\nP.M.Senaratne
\nPeter Rezel
\nPradeepa Sudarshini
\nPrasad Sanjeewa Gamage
\nPrema Gamage
\nPrianil Abeynaike
\nPriya Thangarajah
\nRajani Chandra
\nRalston Weinman
\nRamalingam Sivapragasm
\nRohan Salgadoe (Executive Secretary, National Christian Council of Sri Lanka)
\nRosanna Flamer-Caldera
\nRuki Fernando
\nRuzaina Mahruf
\nSabra Zahid
\nSandra Quintero
\nSandun Thudugala
\nSanjendra Vignarajah
\nShamila Rathnasooriya
\nShreen Saroor
\nSouth Asian Network for Refugees, IDPs and Migrants (SANRIM)
\nStand-Up Movement (SUM)
\nSuganthi Vadivel
\nSujeewa Dahanayake
\nSunanda Deshapriya
\nThangeswaran Gnanaganeshan
\nThidas Herath Maduwalthanne
\nVidya Abhayagunawardena
\nViluthu Centre for Human Resources Development
\nVincent Bulathsinhala
\nWomen and Media Collective (WMC)
\nWomen in Need (WIN)
\nWomen\u2019s Action Network (WAN)
\nWorking Women Front (WWF)<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We, the undersigned, condemn in the strongest terms the beheading of Rizana Nafeek \u2013 the Sri Lankan domestic migrant worker convicted aged 17 in 2005, for the accidental death of an infant \u2013 in Saudi Arabia on the morning of 09 January 2013. We are shocked at the decision of Saudi Arabia\u2019s Interior Ministry, under …<\/p>\n

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