Consideration of the 5th and 6th Periodic Reports of Sri Lanka under the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) took place at the 77th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) held at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, on 15th January 2018. Mrs. Chandrani Senaratne, Secretary of Women and Child Affairs of Sri Lanka led the Sri Lanka delegation.
The Sri Lanka delegation to the review included Ambassador H.E. Ravinatha Aryasinha, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. A. Pathinathan, Chief Secretary, Northern Province, Mrs. T.T. Upulmalee, Acting Additional Secretary, Presidential Secretariat, Mrs. Chandima Sigera, Commissioner Department of Probation and Child Care, Ms. Ayesha Jinasena, Senior Deputy Solicitor General, Attorney General’s Department, Mrs. Samantha Jayasuriya, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva, Mrs. Marini de Livera, Chairperson, National Child Protection Authority, Major General R.M.J.A. Rathnayake, Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Ms. Badra Withanage, Director of Education, Ministry of Education, Dr. Priyani Senadheera, Director of Maternal and Child Health, Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Ms. Lanka Amarasinghe, Director , Women and Children Bureau, Sri Lanka Police, Ms. Shashika Somaratne, Minister Counsellor, Ms. Mafusa Lafir, First Secretary and Ms. Dulmini Dahanayake, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva and Ms. Rajmi Manatunga, Assistant Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Full Opening Statement - PDF Format
Full Opening Statement - Word Format
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
15 January 2018
Geneva
The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) adopted the report on Sri Lanka today, 17 November 2017 in Geneva.
Sri Lanka received a total of 230 recommendations from Member States and accepted 177 recommendations while it noted 53 recommendations. Sri Lanka also made 12 voluntary pledges. The Head of the Sri Lanka delegation, Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, MP, Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs made his closing remarks during the adoption.
Remarks by the Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs Dr. Harsha de Silva
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
17 November 2017
Third Cycle of Sri Lanka’s Review at the 28th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group is being held on Wednesday, 15 November 2017 in Geneva.
The Sri Lanka’s delegation to the review is led by the Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs Dr. Harsha de Silva. The delegation comprised of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney-General’s Department, the President’s Office, and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva.
Full Statement of the Opening Statement delivered by Dr. Harsha de Silva , (Word Format)
Concluding Remarks made by Hon. (Dr.) Harsha De Silva ,MP, Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs.
Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam , Secretary Foreign Affairs made interventions on Torture, Office of the Missing Persons and Transitional Justice.
Mr. Nerin Pulle, Deputy Solicitor General at the Attorney General’s Department made interventions on Hate Speech & Minority Rights, Sexual & Gender based Violence, LGBTIQ and Persons with Disabilities (PwD).
Ms. Chandima Wickremesinghe, Senior Assistant Secretary to the President, made intervention on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
15 November 2017
Sri Lanka's Report under the Universal Periodic Review comes up for consideration by the OHCHR Working Group on UPR on Wednesday 15 November 2017, in Geneva.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in 2006, as a process through which the human rights record of every UN Member State is peer-reviewed.
This review, conducted through the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), is based upon each country’s human rights obligations and commitments in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights instruments to which the country is party, and other sources. During the process, the country under review submits a written report on its human rights record, and appears before the Council, where it receives recommendations regarding its human rights record from other UN Member States. The country under review is able to ‘accept’ or ‘note’ these recommendations. Those accepted form the basis for future reporting.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the UN is ready to provide every possible assistance to Sri Lanka in its efforts to build as a prosperous nation where the reconciliation is strengthened.
He further said that the UN will provide its maximum support to build as an exemplary nation in the world, where all the Sri Lankans can live with prosper and reconciliation, while closely associating with Sri Lanka and its citizens.
President Maithripala Sirisena says Sri Lanka is performing for the betterment of its people with much responsibility, in keeping with the charters of UN, as a member of United Nations. He said the government is taking the process to ensure human rights and reconciliation forward step by step. The President made these remarks during his meeting with Prince Zeid al-Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
- The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process in which the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States are reviewed periodically. It was introduced when the UN Human Rights Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006, and it was adopted unanimously by all UN Member States. Under this process, the human rights situation of all member countries of the UN is reviewed every 4.5 years.
- The UPR is a State-driven process. Each State is given an opportunity to declare what actions have been taken to improve the human rights situation in a country and to fulfil their respective human rights obligations. The UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed. The ultimate aim of this mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur.