The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Economic Development and International Relations, which met in Parliament under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament Attorney-at-Law Miss Lakmali Hemachandra, has considered and approved the Bill.
This Bill has been presented to give effect to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178, adopted on 24 September 2014, to prevent and suppress threats posed by foreign terrorist fighters. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism had presented the Bill to Parliament for its first reading on 20 October.
Key Points
- Approval was granted at the committee meeting chaired by MP Attorney-at-Law Miss Lakmali Hemachandra.
- The primary objective is to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 2178.
- Committee member MP Sivagnanam Shritharan expressed his opposition.
How the law will be implemented
Officials pointed out that if a Sri Lankan citizen or a citizen of another country commits an offence within or outside Sri Lanka, legal action can be taken within the country provided the act constitutes an offence under the law of that respective country as well.
Engaging in, planning, preparing for, or participating in terrorist acts, as well as providing or receiving training, have been defined as offences under this Act. Officials also emphasised that these laws have not been introduced on an ethnic basis targeting Sri Lankans living abroad.
Discussion and opposition
Although the committee approved the Bill after a lengthy discussion, Member of Parliament Sivagnanam Shritharan expressed his opposition to it.
Members of Parliament Suranga Rathnayake, Thilina Samarakoon, and Wijesiri Basnayake, as well as several government officials representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, the Ministry of Defence, the Attorney General's Department, and the Legal Draftsman's Department, participated in the meeting.
