• Strong response being prepared for resolution

By Easwaran Rutnam   

Sri Lanka is confident of securing support of its domestic accountability process at the UN Security Council.    

Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that if any attempt is made to impose trade sanctions on Sri Lanka through the UN Security Council, such attempts are unlikely to get any support.   

He said that Sri Lanka has the backing of a majority of the countries with veto powers in the UN Security Council.   

Speaking at the post cabinet press briefing, Rambukwella noted that the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted by the UN Human Rights Council is non-binding.   
He said that Sri Lanka will prepare a strong response to the resolution to be presented to the UN by September.   

The resolution on Sri Lanka which was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council took immediate effect with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) beginning the process to closely monitor Sri Lanka.   

Monitoring Sri Lanka will be carried out immediately with existing staff while other related work will be implemented once the UN General Assembly approves funding later this year.   
The United States, EU and a number of other countries are among the co-sponsors of the resolution, some with no voting rights in the UN Human Rights Council.   The resolution has called on the Office of the High Commissioner to enhance its monitoring and reporting on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, including on progress in reconciliation and accountability.   

OHCHR has also been told to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eighth session, and a written update at its forty-ninth session and a comprehensive report that includes further options for advancing accountability at its fifty-first session, both to be discussed in the context of an interactive dialogue.