Sri Lanka Mounts Diplomatic Offensive to Thwart UNHRC Challenges

• Has enacted a bill to establish a national unity and reconciliation office, in a key step towards post-conflict reconciliation with the Tamil community
• Govt. consistently rejected the latest Resolution 46/1 and 51/1 that led to the setting up of the so-called ‘Accountability Project’ calling it intrusive

By Kelum Bandara  

Sri Lanka is to make fresh approaches to counter the UNHRC process during its upcoming session in March, this year by engaging the leaders of the different countries including those from Africa, Daily Mirror learns.  

President Ranil Wickremesinghe who is currently in Davos, Switzerland will head to Uganda to attend the Non-Aligned Summit that kicked off last Monday. The leaders from about 120 countries across the world have converged in the Ugandan capital Kampala for the 19th Summit of the NAM.  

 On the sidelines of the summit, the President is slated to hold bilateral talks with the leaders of a number of African countries for strengthening bilateral ties including cooperation at the UNHRC.  

Sri Lanka has been in the UNHRC limelight since 2012 after the civil war ended. Sri Lanka’s case will be taken up once again in the upcoming session.  

The government of Sri Lanka consistently rejected the latest Resolution 46/1 and 51/1 that led to the setting up of the so-called ‘Accountability Project’ calling it intrusive.   
An informed source said the government will make fresh engagements with the United Kingdom, the country which leads the core-group countries which advocated the resolution on Sri Lanka. The President recently decided to join the operations led by the United States and the UK in the Red Sea to counter attacks by Houthi rebels from Yemen, an act interpreted by some as a move, in part, to engage these countries ahead of the UNHRC process.   

The government has taken measures to implement measures envisaged in the latest UNHRC resolution. The government enacted a bill recently to establish a national unity and reconciliation office, in a key step towards post-conflict reconciliation with the Tamil community.  

The bill to set up the ‘Office for National Unity and Reconciliation’ was passed with a majority of 48 votes, while 7 Members of Parliament voted against it.   

• The President recently decided to join the operations led by the United States and the UK in the Red Sea to counter attacks by Houthi rebels from Yemen, an act interpreted by some as a move, in part, to engage these countries ahead of the UNHRC process