Ambassador (Ms) Tamara Kunanayakam, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, Geneva has been unanimously elected to the position of the Chair/Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Right to Development (R2D).

Prior to her diplomatic assignment, Ms. Tamara Kunanayakam served as the Secretary to the Working Group on the Right to Development.  Ambassador Kunanayakam was nominated by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at the organizational meeting of the Working Group on the Right to Development held on September 07, 2011, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Working Group on the Right to Development was established by the then Commission on Human Rights (presently the Human Rights Council). The Working Group provides a platform for all the UN Members and Observer States, Inter-Governmental Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations with Economic and Social Council consultative status to effectively contribute to the Right to Development Agenda.

According to the Resolution 4/4 of the Human Rights Council, the mandate of the open-ended Working Group is:

§         To monitor and review progress made in the promotion and implementation of the right to development

§         To review reports and other information submitted by states and international or non-governmental organizations

§         To submit a sessional report to the Human Rights Council

Ms. Tamara Kunanayakam earlier served as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Cuba and also served as Minister Counsellor at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Brasília. 

Ambassador Tamara Kunanayakam upon being elected as the Chair / Rapporteur to the Chair of the Working Group on the Right to Development addressed the Working Group on September 07, 2011.   

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