ICJ blames Colombo for world's largest detention, cautions donors against complicity

The International Commission of Jurists in a latest report has urged the International Community and the United Nations to extend 'rehabilitation' donor support only on condition of compliance with international law and standards, given the current legal vacuum and uncertain conditions under which at least 8,000 ‘surrendees’ are being detained by Colombo. Otherwise, those who provide support to Colombo's detention programme risk complicity in a policy of systematic mass arbitrary detention, the ICJ warned, in an in-depth report titled "Beyond Lawful Constraints: Sri Lanka’s Mass Detention of LTTE Suspects". In the report, the ICJ has characterised the detention as the largest mass administrative detention anywhere in the world. "[T]he mass detention has the character of collective punishment, which is prohibited in any circumstances under international law," the report said. http://www.icj.org/default.asp?nodeID=349&sessID=&langage=1&myPage=Legal_Documentation&id=23159 ICJ Briefing Note