According to the Amnesty International (AI) attachment entitled Sri Lanka: Balancing Human Rights & Security: Abuse of Arrest and Detention Powers in Colombo:

Under the Emergency Regulations (ER23) owners of lodging houses must supply daily lists of lodgers and every "householder" must register with the local police the names of everyone living in the house, including any visitor staying overnight. Tamil people are sometimes arrested if they do not carry with them a copy of this list, commonly called a police registration report. Residents or visitors who are not registered are considered suspicious and are usually arrested if the house is visited by police, regardless of the fact that the law puts the responsibility for ensuring registration on the householder and not the occupants (Feb. 1994, 9).

The Financial Times attachment dated 24 November 1992 also discusses an emergency law that was passed requiring citizens "to register with police, ... [and] to seek police permission before allowing guests to stay in their homes." The report adds that "householders must register everyone living at each home and must tell police if anyone moves out" (ibid.).

The Tamil Information attachment of May-June 1995 states that "after a search of only Tamil residences at Dunbar town in Nuwara-Eliya District police directed that all Tamil residents should register their names at the police station" (9). The May 1995 Sri Lanka Information Monitor: Situation Report, which is published by the Colombo-based human rights organization INFORM, also reports that "... there are many checkpoints in Colombo, and household checks to determine if only registered residents are in fact living in the house have become common" (8). However, according to the June 1995 issue of that publication, on 23 June 1995, the

IGP [Inspector General of Police] instructed Police officers manning checkpoints that it was not mandatory for Tamils to produce documents stating that they were registered with the Police. At a press conference, the IGP said that this had been instituted as a practice during the time the Emergency Regulations were in operation (8).

Information on which Emergency Regulations remain in effect and where could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB, although the September 1994 issue of Sri Lanka Information Monitor reports that the emergency regulations were limited to particular areas (6). The source was unable to provide information on which regulations remained in effect in these areas (ibid.). Country Reports for 1994 also states that the government lifted the emergency regulations from most of the country, although they remained in effect in areas "directly affected by the insurgency" (1995, 1260).

For further information on registration regulations, please consult the following documents, which are available at Regional Documentation Centres: Response to Information Request LKA19476.E of 9 February 1995 and the DIRB's Question and Answer Series paper Sri Lanka: Chronology of Events, September 1992 November 1994 of February 1995, which discusses November 1992 and June 1993 regulations requiring Colombo landlords to register their tenants (2, 7).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). February 1994. Sri Lanka: Balancing Human Rights & Security: Abuse of Arrest & Detention Powers in Colombo. (AI Index: ASA 37/10/94). London: Amnesty International.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Financial Times [London]. 24 November 1992. "Sri Lankans Must Register." (NEXIS)

Sri Lanka Information Monitor: Situation Report [Colombo]. June 1995. "Human Rights."

_____. May 1995. "Security in the South."

_____. September 1994. "The Emergency."

Tamil Information [London]. May-June 1995. No. 46-47. "June 05: Discrimination in Police Search."

Attachments

Amnesty International (AI). February 1994. Sri Lanka: Balancing Human Rights & Security: Abuse of Arrest & Detention Powers in Colombo. (AI Index: ASA 37/10/94). London: Amnesty International, pp. 9-10.

Financial Times [London]. 24 November 1992. "Sri Lankans Must Register." (NEXIS)

Sri Lanka Information Monitor: Situation Report [Colombo]. June 1995. "Human Rights," p. 8.

_____. May 1995. "Security in the South," p. 8.

_____. September 1994. "The Emergency," p. 6.

Tamil Information [London]. May-June 1995. No. 46-47. "June 05: Discrimination in Police Search," p. 9.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report 1995. 1995.

Annual Report 10 August 1992 10 August 1993 [Colombo]. 29 September 1993.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1994.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1995. 1994.

International Services Group (ISG), Citizenship and Immigration [Hull]. Infrequent reports. 1994 to present.

News from Asia Watch.

Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States. January 1995. Sri Lanka: Comments on Country Conditions and Asylum Claims.

Refugees, Immigration and Asylum Section (RIAS), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. July 1993. Refugee Determination: Country Profile: Sri Lanka.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) [Geneva]. November 1994. Background Paper on Sri Lankan Refugees and Asylum Seekers.