Special attention towards Sri Lanka at 40th Regular Session of UNHRC

COLOMBO (News 1st) - It is natural of a concerned citizen to be interested in Sri Lanka's state at the 40th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council during the upcoming week. The delegation representing Sri Lanka at the 40th Regular session of the UNHRC will leave the country within the next few days. The delegation headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Tilak Marapana comprises of MP Dr Sarath Amunugama, Governor of the Northern Province Dr Suren Raghavan, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ravinatha Aryasingha and Deputy Solicitor General A. Nerin Pulle. Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative in Geneva A. L. A. Azeez and Deputy Permanent Representative Samantha Jayasuriya will attend the session tomorrow(March 18). The report on the promotion of Sri Lanka's reconciliation, accountability and human rights compiled by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will be considered on the 20th of this month. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that the relevant suggestions sponsored by Sri Lanka will be considered on the following day(March 21). Meanwhile, the Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa in a communiqué today(March 17) expressed his suggestions on the stance Sri Lanka should follow at this event. The communique had the following four suggestions:

• That Sri Lanka will no longer co-sponsor resolutions against itself in the UNHRC.
• That Sri Lanka does not accept the allegations made in OHCHR Report No: 30/61 of 28 September 2015.
• That hybrid war crimes courts with foreign judges and prosecutors will never be set up in Sri Lanka.
• That Acts No: 14 of 2016, No: 5 of 2018 and No: 24 of 2018 which are highly detrimental to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and the fundamental rights of its citizens, will be repealed and replaced with legislation which is more aligned with our national interest.

Following the above suggestions, the Opposition Leader questions with such supervision of our affairs from Geneva, why do we need an elected government? Executive Director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, Jehan Perera shared his thoughts on the current condition of Sri Lanka at the UNHRC Regular session in Geneva. Jehan Perera noted that Sri Lanka is in a positive state at the hands of UNHRC.  He added that the UN charter is similar to 2015. He stressed that UN high commissioner accepts that Sri Lanka has turned into a favourable path in its human rights issues. She had also added that although the progress is slow paced in court cases, state departments are strong. According to him, the UN High Commissioner's current report is generally positive compared to her last report in 2014, and it is even better than the report in 2018. The executive director noted that one of the negative aspects is delaying of the implementation of a hybrid court as it would assist with universal jurisdiction when Sri Lanka's domestic judicial system fails.

---