A new Resolution on Sri Lanka has been tabled at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva by the main sponsors the United Kingdom, Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the United States of America.
The Resolution titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ had been submitted to the Secretariat just ahead of the Presidential Election in Sri Lanka.
Resolution A/HRC/57/L.1 looks to renew the mandate in Resolution 51/1, which the Sri Lankan Government has already rejected.
The new Resolution tabled at the Human Rights Council during its ongoing 57th Session calls for the mandate and all requested work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Human Rights Council resolution 51/1 to be extended.
The Resolution states:
Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international human rights treaties,
Recalling its previous resolutions on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, the most recent of which was Human Rights Council resolution 51/1 of 6 October 2022,
Welcomes the report of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights presented to the Council at its 57th session;
Decides to extend the mandate and all requested work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Human Rights Council resolution 51/1 and requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to present an oral update at its 58th session, and a comprehensive report on progress on human rights, reconciliation, and accountability in Sri Lanka at its 60th session to be discussed in an interactive dialogue.
The 57th session of the Human Rights Council is taking place in Geneva from 9 September to 11 October 2024.