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2S rebruary 2O2O

lrtter to Mrne Bachelet,

High Commissioner for Hurnan RighB,
Geneva.

registry@ohchr.org

Dear High Commissioner,

We are a group of survivors of torture and write this appealto yoti as a fellow survivor of
torture. ,. a

We were all very recently OetaineJ and tortured by the security forces in our country and
forced to flee for ourolives. For many of us, our families are back home and are constantly
threatened and iptimidated into silence about what has happ6ned to us. Neither we nor our
families are able to speak safely about what happened. For that we rely on international
bodies.

Your report this week tg the pnited Nations Human Rights Council tNHRCl43t19t caused us
Sreat hurt and anguish; you erased us from the record. Last year you said the Sri Lankan
security forces continued to abduct, torture and rape between 201G18. Though you must
know this is still happening in 2019 - we are the living proof
-this year you didn't mention it
at all. ln fact there are only two places where yor mention torture in the whole report on Sri
tanka and they give thb impression that it is something that only happened in the past. We
do not want anyone else to go through what we have endured but that requires you to
monitor and report on what's going bn.

The Govemment of Sri Lanka @n speak for itsetf. We cannot.

!
lf by some chance you don't believe us - which is very painful - please come and visit us and
see our tears and our scars for yourself.

Yours Sincerely,

Signed by:

(initials only and date of detention in Sri Lanka)

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