Sri Lanka’s envoy in Geneva, Ambassador A.L.A Azeez, referred to the multifaceted work that WIPO has carried out, including through the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, by mainstreaming its Development Agenda, that effectively ensures the continued sharing of IP protected knowledge among Member States.
WIPO’s norm-setting agenda, Ambassador Azeez stressed, has extended to a number of innovative areas including Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. He called upon the Inter-Governmental Committee to expedite its work to finalize international legal instrument/s extending protection for these vital intellectual assets.
Sri Lanka also expressed appreciation to WIPO for its continued assistance in the form of technical cooperation and capacity building, and updated the WIPO General Assemblies on Sri Lanka’s progress in the accession process to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks.
The delegation of Sri Lanka to the WIPO General Assemblies comprised the Director General of the National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka, Mrs. Geethanjali Ranawaka, Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN, Ms. Dayani Mendis, and Minister Counsellor, Ms. Shashika Somaratne. The WIPO General Assemblies will be in session from 30 September to 11 October 2019 in Geneva.
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
30 September 2019
Address to the 74th UN General Assembly by Mr. Ravinatha P Aryasinha,
Secretary, Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Delegation of Sri Lanka
30th September 2019
Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is indeed an honour to participate in the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) representing Sri Lanka. H.E. Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka, regrets very much his inability to have attended this Session.
Permit me to warmly congratulate H.E. Prof. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the 74th session of the UNGA, on his election. Undoubtedly his longstanding experience will guide the work of this august assembly to a successful conclusion. Let me also thank the outgoing President H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés for successfully conducting the work of the last session.
I wish to extend Sri Lanka’s appreciation to Secretary-General António Guterres for his sagacious leadership and untiring efforts in achieving the objectives of the United Nations.
The Delegation of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva delivered a Statement during the General Debate under Agenda Item 2 at the 42nd Session of the Human Rights Council.
The Statement, inter alia, highlighted Sri Lanka’s position on the appointment of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army expressed on 20th August 2019.
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN
Geneva
11 September 2019
The 9th Meeting of States Parties (MSP) to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) concluded its deliberations in Geneva on 4 September 2019 under the Presidency of Sri Lanka. States parties, signatories, observer states and international and civil society organizations participated in the three-day meeting which convened its first session on 2 September 2019.
The MSP, chaired by Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, marked the culmination of a year-long process of oversight and review of the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and of guidance and advocacy for the universalization of the Convention and its norms, and the prohibition of use, production, stockpile and transfer of cluster munitions. Sri Lanka’s election to the Presidency of the 9th MSP had been facilitated by the wide recognition among the international community, of its strengthened commitment to humanitarian disarmament, as manifested by its accession to the CCM and the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
"Achieving a world free of cluster munitions depends on the strengthening of norms that are universally accepted and implemented", emphasizes Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, in his capacity as the President of the 9th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). His statement has been released on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of entry into force of the CCM on 1 August 2019.
Web Article : http://www.clusterconvention.org/2019/07/31/9th-anniversary-of-the-conventions-entry-into-force/
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
7th August 2019
Pursuant to the invitation extended by Seine-Saint-Denis, France, and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), an organisation based in Barcelona, Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, as the Chair of the 2018 Social Forum, delivered the key note address at the opening of the ‘International Forum on Olympic Legacy and Social Inclusion’. Inter-linked issues and perspectives relating to sports and human rights, especially in view of Paris Olympics 2024 and other mega sporting platforms, remained the focus. The following is a viewpoint published in the Sunday Observer and Inter Press Service, based on the key note address made by Ambassador Azeez:
News Articles : http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2019/07/28/opinion/%E2%80%98playing%E2%80%99-it-right-path-ahead
http://www.ipsnews.net/2019/07/spirit-olympics-uns-development-agenda/
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
7th August 2019
Addressing a panel discussion at the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva, Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez stressed the need for making determined efforts towards achieving concrete progress in nuclear disarmament through the preservation of existing disarmament architecture; and substantive negotiation and finalization of instruments on CD’s agenda items, through fast-tracking the adoption of a Programme of Work.
Ambassador Azeez drew attention to the need for taking other important measures including completing the universalization of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, noting its significant contribution to advancement of science and technology, lying at the inter-section between nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. Deploring the continuing impasse in nuclear disarmament, he stressed that it was striking "the issue has coursed through the vortex of international public concern with little changes in its tide, for decades."
He highlighted the importance of disarmament education and full integration of a gender perspective as imperative to ensure "a fully informed, well-represented, result-oriented negotiation on critical issues.
The following article published on InDepthNews highlights the viewpoints expressed by Ambassador Azeez at the panel discussion:
https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/opinion/2875-nuclear-disarmament-through-the-vortex-of-global-concern
Full Statement by Ambassador Azeez
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
5th August 2019
The Sri Lanka delegation to the Human Rights Council briefed the Council today on progress made in addressing human rights concerns, national security imperatives, as well as reconciliation priorities. Sri Lanka’s intervention under Agenda Item 2 of the Council, followed the Oral Update provided by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Madam Michelle Bachelet at the opening of the 41st Session of the Human Rights Council on 24 June 2019, where a reference was made to Sri Lanka.
Clarifying the latest situation in the Country following the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks and its aftermath, Sri Lanka stated that it has made significant progress in assuring the security of all Sri Lankans and upholding law and order through the implementation of relevant laws and legal processes, among other important measures.
Sri Lanka further asserted that the national institutions in Sri Lanka continued to make interventions on issues pertaining to violence and extremism, as the Government pursued effective measures that have led to the dismantling of terrorist networks in the Country.
Statement is attached.
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN
Geneva
25 June 2019
The Sri Lanka delegation, presenting the country's first report under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, briefed the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the panoply of laws and executive and policy measures adopted by Sri Lanka to safeguard the rights of children and to ensure the wellbeing of children.
Emphasizing that most of such measures even preceded Sri Lanka's ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Mrs. Dharshana Senanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, at the head of Sri Lanka's delegation, clarified “With the ratification of the Optional Protocol, the national laws have been further strengthened in such a manner as to cover all elements of the offences stipulated in the Optional Protocol.”
The delegation elaborated on legal and regulatory reforms such as the formulation of a Child Protection and Justice Bill on par with international standards, intended to better address the concerns related to children in conflict with law or in need of care, and the establishment of guidelines for the operation of day-care centers. Outlining the promotional and preventive activities undertaken by Ministries and other agencies in Sri Lanka to advance the best interest of the child, the delegation drew attention to the role of National Monitoring Committee (NMC) as an inclusive and robust monitoring mechanism.
"Shilpa Sena", a rolling exposition will be launched island wide in July, geared towards bringing technological skills, knowledge and products to the general public, at a time when the country embraces new and emerging technologies. The aim of the exposition is to bridge the technological divide in the society while ensuring that no one will be left behind, as part of the government's wider policy of achieving 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Minister of Science, Technology and Research Sujeewa Senasinghe made these remarks addressing the High-Level Round Table on "The impact of rapid technological change on sustainable development" on 14 May 2019 while participating in the 22nd Session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD). The theme of this year's Commission was "The role of science, technology and innovation in empowering people and in ensuring inclusiveness and equality" and saw the participation of developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America as well as developed countries.
Speaking further, Minister Senasinghe stated that Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Neurotechnology, 5G and Internet of Things, Personalised Medicine, Blue-green Technologies, New Energy, Robotics and Industrial Automation, Mechatronics, Artificial Intelligence and Space Technology have been identified as priority technology themes by the government for action. Highlighting the importance of Blue-Green economy, he stated that the objective of this initiative is to utilize ocean resources through enhanced scientific knowledge while drawing from Sri Lanka's rich heritage of indigenous knowledge.
Risk-sensitive economic planning and coherence between climate and disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies are vital in building resilient societies and economies as envisioned by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez stated. He made these remarks addressing the Sixth Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Geneva from 13 to 17 May 2019.
Sri Lanka is taking a number of initiatives towards this end, he added, highlighting national measures to establish an online damage and loss assessment system for all sectors in line with international standards, a Climate-Resilient Integrated Water Management Project aimed at strengthening the resilience of vulnerable smallholder farmers in the dry zone, and a Climate Resilience Improvement Project focused on building a more climate-resilient economy.
“In Sri Lanka, national strategies for disaster risk reduction have been formulated for the period of 2019-2030 and the National Policy on Disaster Risk Management has been updated to enable risk-informed implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the UN Urban Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”
“Among specific measures taken or being taken are the introduction of an insurance scheme against natural disasters for all houses and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), National Building Codes for disaster-resilient construction, guidelines to mainstream disaster risk reduction, and mainstreaming DRR into the education sector,” he stated.
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