Sri Lanka: One of many countries that disrupted the right to protest

Sri Lanka was one of the many countries that disrupted the right to protest of the people, said Deprose Muchena, the Senior Director for Human Rights Impact at Amnesty International.

He was in Colombo for the regional launch of Amnesty's global annual report and was also the key speaker at the event.

"Human rights came under attack, we saw repression of the most calculated order. This repression did not pick and choose where it happened as we saw global protest movements being faced with brute force, with killings, with mass arrests and with all manner of human rights violations, not least in this country, in this region, in this continent," he said.

"We know that there is a discussion around support from the International Monetary Fund that is being discussed between your government and yourselves. Amnesty International calls for transparency on that deal so that everything that has been debated in within the public purview. Social protection to be prioritized and for human rights to be enhanced because no aid mechanism should diminish human rights. Everything that happens between countries as part of cooperation should enhance the protection of people, their safety and their ability to pursue their own rights," he added. 

Given the current economic crisis and human rights situation in Sri Lanka, Deprose Muchena aims to use his presence to highlight and stress on the urgent need to protect and promote the rights of the island’s 22 million people.

Deprose Muchena is the Senior Director for Regional Human Rights Impact at Amnesty International, where he oversees Amnesty regional offices across the world to lead the mandate of expanding human rights footprint.

He has previously worked with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA).