Sri Lanka on Monday reiterated its rejection of evidence gathering mechanisms within the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) saying it contradicts its founding principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity.
The Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Himalee Arunatilaka, noted that 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,” she said.
She said that 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.
Furthermore, she said that serious concerns have been raised by a number of countries on the budgetary implications of the external mechanism, particularly at a time the UN is undergoing severe budgetary constraints.
Arunatilaka said that the Government has prioritized economic growth which will take place in a manner that is inclusive, where all citizens have enhanced economic opportunities allowing the resultant benefits to be reaped fairly by all strata of society.
“The rule of law, transparency, accountability and reconciliation will prevail in order to ensure sustained economic growth and social well-being of the people,” the Ambassador said.
The Ambassador briefed the Council on the work of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), the Office for Reparations, and the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR).
“We remain steadfast in our 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,” the Ambassador said.