Sri Lanka today reiterated its rejection of all United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolutions on Sri Lanka including the external evidence gathering mechanism initiated by the OHCHR.
"Sri Lanka has consistently spoken out against country specific resolutions that do not have the concurrence of the country concerned. We have reiterated our rejection of Resolutions 46/1, 51/1, and 57/1 and the external evidence gathering mechanism on Sri Lanka that has been set up using these divisive and intrusive resolutions," Himalee Arunatilaka,Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva told the 58th Session of the UNHRC.
She said the external evidence gathering mechanism on Sri Lanka within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is an unprecedented and ad hoc expansion of the Council’s mandate, and contradicts its founding principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity.
" No sovereign state can accept the superimposition of an external mechanism that runs contrary to its Constitution and which pre-judges the commitment of its domestic legal processes," she said.
The Permanent Representative also said that the country remains steadfast in its belief that national ownership with gradual reforms, is the only practical way forward to transformative change." We regret the continuing inconsistent application of human rights principles through the work of the Council. This has resulted in the erosion of trust in the human rights architecture making countries less likely to respect the noble purposes for which the Human Rights Council was created."
Ms.Arunatilaka said that furthermore, serious concerns have been raised by a number of countries on the budgetary implications of this external mechanism, particularly at a time the UN is undergoing severe budgetary constraints.
She added that as reaffirmed at previous sessions, the Government of Sri Lanka is determined to deal with human rights challenges including reconciliation through domestic processes.
Sri Lanka will also continue its constructive engagement with the Human Rights Council and regular human rights instruments in a spirit of cooperation and constructive dialogue and reiterated its commitment to multilateral cooperation in pursuit of peace, prosperity, and sustainability along with the promotion and protection of all human rights.
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