UN Rights Experts Deplore Sri-Lanka's Cremation Of Dead Bodies Suspected Of COVID-19

UN Rights Experts Deplore Sri-Lanka's Cremation of Dead Bodies Suspected of COVID-19

Sri Lanka's policy to cremate anyone who dies from COVID-19 discriminates against the beliefs of the minority Muslim population, a group of UN experts from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement on Monday

UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2021) Sri Lanka's policy to cremate anyone who dies from COVID-19 discriminates against the beliefs of the minority Muslim population, a group of UN experts from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement on Monday.

"The imposition of cremation as the only option for handling the bodies confirmed or suspected of COVID-19 amounts to a human rights violation," the statement said. "We deplore the implementation of such public health decisions based on discrimination, aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism amounting to the persecution of Muslims and other minorities in the country."

As of January 21, Sri Lanka recorded 274 COVID-19-related deaths, a significant number of them being Muslims, according to the experts. All of the bodies were cremated according to the national guidelines.

The experts explained that the decision to make cremation mandatory followed in alleged expert advice that burials could contaminate ground drinking water. However, the World Health Organization has stated there is no evidence to suggest that cremation prevents the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

"While we must be alert to the serious public health challenges posed by the pandemic, COVID-19 measures must respect and protect the dignity of the dead," the experts said, warning that such hostility against the religious minorities only exacerbates existing intolerance.

Such compulsory cremation also risks deterring the poor and most vulnerable from accessing public healthcare, which in turn, impacts the public measures to contain the pandemic, the experts said.

The Sri Lanka government should stop the forced cremation of COVID-19 bodies, combat disinformation, stigmatization of Muslims and ensure accountability for cremations that were carried out by error, the experts added.