Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, has called for "a balanced approach" in addressing the objectives of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Noting that "Sri Lanka remains fully committed to the nuclear non-proliferation commitments of the NPT and have steadfastly and consistently supported the global initiatives on non-proliferation", Ambassador Aryasinha noted that "nuclear non-proliferation however remains one of three pillars of the NPT, which requires equal attention along with the other two - promotion of safe and secure use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and nuclear disarmament". He said "such an approach which includes the implementation of the 13 practical steps agreed on to meet the disarmament commitments during the 2000 Review Conference to advance progressively towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, is a necessary step on the road map to achieving the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons."

Ambassador Aryasinha made these observations when he addressed the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on its opening day on Monday 22 April 2013.

Full text of Statement…

The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict adopted the “Draft Conclusions on the situation of children and armed conflict in Sri Lanka” on December 19, 2012, thereby closing the dossier on Sri Lanka in the Security Council. Prior to adopting the Draft Conclusions, the Working Group has considered the report of the Secretary- General on Children and Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka, and its recommendations in accordance with Security Council resolutions 1612 (2005) and 1882 (2009). The Mission had engaged a range of entities over the months on this issue.

Sri Lanka’s rehabilitation and reintegration of former child combatants and the delisting of the TMVP and the Iniya Bharathi Faction from Annex II (“Naming and Shaming List” ) of the annual report of the Secretary- General contributed to this positive outcome.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay chaired a meeting on 29th November 2012 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. 

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha who was associated with the High Commissioner at the event, read out the statement of the Chair of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Dr. Palitha Kohona.

The Ministry of External Affairs refers to the “Report of the Secretary General’s Internal Review Panel on UN action in Sri Lanka” or the “Petrie Report” which was leaked to the media the day prior to its being formally handed over to the Secretary General on 14^th November, and officially made public the same day. While this Report is an internal review of the UN’s action in Sri Lanka during the terrorist conflict, the Ministry’s attention has been drawn to certain issues with regard to allegations directed at the Government of Sri Lanka, which are regrettably unsubstantiated, erroneous and replete with conjecture and bias.

Sri Lanka believes that in the settlement of international disputes, action must be based on the fundamental principle of sovereign equality of states, a principle firmly enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, stated Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs in his address yesterday to the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly. He regretted that the noticeable recent tendency to selectively and arbitrarily intervene in the internal affairs of States flies in the face of this principle, and dilutes the confidence so carefully nurtured in the UN system.

Addressing the 63^rd Session of the Executive Committee of the UNHCR on Tuesday (2 October) Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha said, "those who downplay the significance of Sri Lanka's post-conflict achievements and constantly keep shifting goal posts, show disrespect not only to Sri Lanka and its international partners whose steadfast commitment to this task has made these achievements possible, but also to those who have at last emerged from the suffering caused by 30 years of terrorist conflict". 

Ambassador Aryasinha who noted that "in contrast to the considerable difficulty and gloom in the humanitarian crises that continue to engulf many parts of the world today, Sri Lanka’s recent achievements provides confidence and hope". and that  "it lends credence to the position that even the most severe and insurmountable of challenges could be overcome with the political commitment and dedication of the concerned country, and the requisite support provided by the international community. He said "Sri Lanka remains ready to share its experience and best practices in post-conflict resettlement and rehabilitation with the international community".

On behalf of the G-15 member States, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha emphasized that developing countries and the LDc’s need UNCTAD’s assistance now more than ever in designing policies for dealing with persistent and emerging challenges for development in the aftermath of the recent economic and financial crisis which has slowed the global economic growth.  

The Group echoed in the message UNCTAD’s role and contribution through its three pillars in setting the appropriate environment for the developing countries to transform the challenges and uncertainties into opportunities specially through South South co-operation.  

In line with the theme of Doha mandate, he explained that for UNCTAD members to benefit, globalization should be development centered and should focus on inclusive and sustainable growth and development outcomes. 

The TDB Sessions which is the highest decision making body after Ministerial conference, deals with substantive policy issues, such as global economic issues from trade and development perspective and reviews the progress of implementation of UNCTAD work programme. The 59^th session is scheduled from 17 – 28 September 2012, covering sessions related to poverty reduction, economic development in Africa, investment for development, evolution of the international trading system and its trends from a development perspective among others.   

Full statement.....

The Sri Lanka Delegation to the 21st Session of the Human Rights Council which opened in Geneva earlier this week is continuing to engage with the relevant Interactive Dialogues with Special Procedures Mandate Holders and Working Groups.  

Intervening in the Interactive Dialogue on the Report of the Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-recurrence, on Wednesday (12 September) Senior Legal Advisor to the Cabinet Mr. Mohan Pieris observed that Sri Lanka has developed its  home-grown transitional justice  process with the establishment of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, based on the principle of restorative justice, to advise on  the measures which may  be  required to achieve national healing, cohesion and unity.  In formulating the LLRC, Sri Lanka reflected on comparative transitional justice experiences in other countries.

Participating on Tuesday in the Interactive dialogue on the Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, Mr. Peiris who described Sri Lanka's experience 'as a story that we could be proud of', said the Government adhered to the policy of treating all child combatants as victims and not as perpetrators.

Full statement ...

 

Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha has said, the international community, especially those countries that have faced the challenge of emerging from protracted conflict or continue to be embroiled in such conflict, would particularly appreciate the significance of Sri Lanka's achievements since the ending of terrorism a little over 3 years ago.  

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and Leader of the Sri Lanka Delegation to the 21st session of the Human Rights Council made these observation, delivering the country statement on the opening day of the session in  Geneva on Monday (10 Sept 2012). The session opened with an address by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.   

 Full statement.....

Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, addressing the Conference on Disarmament (CD) on Tuesday (31 July 2012), has expressed Sri Lanka's "profound disappointment that the Conference has not been enabled to undertake substantive work on its agenda". He said, "it is time to avoid the temptation of subjecting the work of this Conference to the vagaries of changing international strategic landscape, and instead, to harness its potential to contribute towards enhancing cooperative security". Emphasizing the importance of the CD "as the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community", Ambassador Aryasinha said, "in order to continue to preserve the unique role of the Body, it is vital that all of us, the Member States, allow the Conference to begin its substantive work on the basis of a balanced and focussed Programme of Work, that takes into account security concerns of all its Members in an equitable manner, thereby ensuring its acceptance by consensus".   

Geneva

31 July 2012

      Sri Lanka Participates in the 20^th Session of the Human Rights Council              Apprises the Council of Progress with regard to Reconciliation

Today, the people of Sri Lanka are ready to move forward and sustain peace and achieve economic prosperity, which will be possible, only if we stand together as one country, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. 

Addressing the 12th Doha Forum and Enriching the Middle East's Economic Future Conference at the Doha Sheraton Hotel on Sunday morning as an international Guest of Honor, the President said the Government is committed to go that extra mile to achieve permanent peace through reconciliation and economic empowerment of the people, and I am glad to say that we have already embarked on that national endeavour. 

President Rajapaksa said the government is also committed to empower the rural economy and agriculture in the island as well as the IT sector. 

The three-day international Forum will offer a sweeping overview of issues regarding Democracy, Development and Free Trade in the Middle-East, the Arab countries and the world. 

The meeting will broadly discuss critical political, economic, social, financial, strategic and human matters of pressing concern for the region. 

Over 610 participants representing 84 countries and organizations are attending the Forum. It will conclude on May 22. 

President Rajapaksa is attending the Forum as an International Guest of Honor at the invitation of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani. 

Following his address, the President paid a courtesy call on the Emir, who visited Sri Lanka with a business delegation in January this year, and discussed bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Qatar. 

External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga were also present at the discussion.

The Ministry of External Affairs wishes to inform the Diplomatic Missions, the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies and other International Organizations based in Colombo of several matters relating to the sequence of events involving Mr. Premkumar Gunaratnam and Ms. Dimuthu Attygalle.

These events have been the subject of extensive media attention during the last few days. Statements with regard to the matter have captured headlines in the media and have been the subject of vigorous comment by leaders of political parties, academics and civil society activists. All these persons have united in making a variety of grave allegations, the gist of which is to impute responsibility to the Government for an alleged abduction.

At the end of the 19^th Session of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Tamara Kunanayakam, taking the floor under the concluding general segment, affirmed that the US resolution against Sri Lanka constituted a negative precedent that challenged the core values of the Human Rights Council, and reflected a blatant case of politicization that ‘takes the Council hostage to the hidden agendas of the mighty’.

Ambassador Kunanayakam exposed the fact that no one within the Council was ignorant of the pressures exercised and the methods used to obtain support for a resolution whose list of co-sponsors, she said, constitutes a caricature of a divided world. She rejected all forms of unilateralism, threats, sanctions, blockades, conditionalities, and the orchestrated disinformation campaigns which, she said, aimed to diabolise Sri Lanka, and further pointed out that such measures would only bring dishonour to the resolution’s authors.

Observer States such as Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Pakistan also taking the floor under the same segment, expressed similar sentiments and reiterated support for Sri Lanka.

Link to webcast –http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2012/03/comments-by-observer-states-on-draft-resolutions-55th-meeting.html 

(Sri Lanka statement can be browsed at the following timing- 01:28:49)

Full Text of Statement:

Statement made by Mr Mohan Peiris under the thematic discussion on “Sharing of best practices and promoting technical cooperation: paving the way towards the second cycle of the universal periodic review”  

Madam President,

 We have been repeatedly reminded that the promotion and protection of human rights should be based on the principle of cooperation and genuine dialogue and aimed at strengthening the capacity of member states to comply with their human rights obligations for the benefit of all human kind. It urges States to cooperate with Governments in that process.

Madam President,

My delegation recalls Resolution A/HRC/S-11/2 adopted at the 11^th Special Session on Assistance to Sri Lanka in the promotion and protection of human rights which recognizes that the promotion and protection of human rights should be based on the principle of cooperation and genuine dialogue and aimed at strengthening the capacity of Member States to comply with their human rights obligations for the benefit of all human beings, and urges the international community to cooperate with the Government of Sri Lanka in its post-conflict reconstruction efforts.  

My delegation also recalls paragraph 4 of the GA Resolution 60/251 which established the HRC and importantly the principle that ‘advisory services, technical assistance and capacity building’, be ‘provided in consultation with and with the consent of member countries concerned’.