Sri Lanka has said that the UN Human Rights Chief Navaneethen Pillay’s recent report on the island nation has ‘exceeded its mandate by making references and recommendations on numerous issues extraneous to the resolution.’
Addressing the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva today, Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said the Government of Sri Lanka categorically rejects the High Commissioner’s report. References made within the Council welcoming the High Commissioner’s report were regrettable as the report was based on baseless and questionable material including what had been processed outside the UN framework.
The Minister said the recommendations contained in the Report are arbitrary, intrusive and political nature and are not placed within the ambit of the LLRC as demonstrated by the call to establish and international inquiry mechanism. The report and those who exalt its virtues only seek to inflict harm on the reconciliation process by bringing about a polarization of Sri Lankan society. He stressed that there was no acknowledgement of the very tangible progress made by Sri Lanka. The Minister said Sri Lanka has continued its proactive relationship with the UNHRC despite being the target of country-specific actions taken by the Council at the behest of a few member states.
The Minister pointed out to the Council that some countries were exploiting human rights for political purposes while highlighting the disproportionate efforts to implement country specific resolutions while conveniently ignoring other pressing issues.
The External Affairs Ministry claimed that any objective observer would agree that Sri Lanka’s achievements would match or surpass that of any country coming out of a similar experience while briefing the council on several efforts by the government to address the many pressing issues concerning resettlement, demining and reconciliation. He highlighted a Special Land Circular which aims to grant legal ownership of land to those being resettled while also informing the council of the government’s ten-year plan to achieve a trilingual Sri Lanka with bilingual programmes already being implemented for public servants.
The Minister said that Sri Lanka remains committed to the Council and its mechanisms including special procedures while Sri Lanka continues to submit its periodic reports to its treaty bodies, he added.
Post a Comment