UN Working Group to review Sri Lanka under 4th Cycle of UPR

Sri Lanka's National Report under the 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) would come up for consideration by the UN Working Group on UPR on February 1, 2023, during its 42nd Session to be held in Geneva, Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. 

All UN member States, including Sri Lanka, have participated in 3 cycles of the UPR namely, in 2008 (first), 2012 (second) and 2017 (third).

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) in 2006, as a State-driven voluntary-peer-review process which, provides the opportunity for each State to declare the steps taken at the national level to improve the human rights situation in that State and to fulfill their human rights obligations.

At the UPR, all 193 Member States of the UN are reviewed without any selectivity or discrimination. It is periodic and is repeated every four-and half years. 3 sessions are held each year and 14 countries are reviewed in one session. As such, each Member State of the UN is reviewed every 4 years.

The 4th Cycle of the UPR commenced in November 2022 and Sri Lanka’s Fourth UPR is scheduled for 01 February 2023 during the 42nd session of the UPR Working Group, in Geneva. The following countries will also be reviewed under the UPR’s 4th cycle at the 42nd Working Group, during the period 23 January to 3 February 2023: Argentina, Benin, Czechia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and Zambia.

Sri Lanka’s National Report under the 4th Cycle of the UPR was submitted on 22 December 2022 and provides a self-assessment on the steps taken since the last UPR in November 2017, to fulfill our voluntarily undertaken human rights obligations. The process of preparation of the National Report, was undertaken under the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Broad consultations were held with stakeholders from government and non-governmental organizations as well as the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s National Report is available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/lk-index

This year’s Review will take place in a hybrid format. Due to the 75th Anniversary of Independence celebrations falling during the same period, Sri Lanka’s delegation to the Review will be led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry by means of a pre-recorded video statement. The in-person delegation will be led by Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Himalee Arunatilaka and comprise senior officials from the Presidential Secretariat, the Attorney-General’s Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva.