Jeddah (UNA-OIC) – The Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed its deep concern over multiple reports indicating that the Sri Lankan government is cremating all bodies of persons who died of COVID-19, and bans burials – a practice followed by many religious minorities including Muslims.
The issue has been raised by many human rights organizations and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the freedom of religion or belief, urging the Sri Lankan government to respect the burial rights of its Muslim minority.
The Jeddah-based IPHRC said in a statement on Thursday that the International Human Rights Law, specifically Article 18 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), protects the freedom of religion of all people, which includes manifesting their religion or belief in worship, observance and practice. It added that Article 27 of ICCPR on the rights of minorities, further stresses that religious minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture as well as to profess and practice their own religion.
“Here it is pertinent to recall that the measure of forced cremation by Sri Lanka’s authorities is not covered under any health advisory prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to enhance governmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, there is no reasonable justification to enforce cremation as an obligatory measure,” the Commission pointed out.
“Accordingly, IPHRC urges the Sri Lankan government to fulfill its human rights obligations by protecting and respecting the right of its Muslim minority to practice their religion free from any discrimination, including the uncompromised right to honor the dignity of their dead in line with their religious beliefs and obligations,” the statement concluded.
