George Cooke explores Sri Lanka’s multilateral past

Reflecting on the past is one of the most crucial elements when planning for the future. The latest International Relations (IR) publication in Sri Lanka, ‘Sri Lanka and the United Nations: Relations with the UN General Assembly’ provides a sound base from which one can travel back in time. This journey provides insights into the positions taken, the statements made and the position that Sri Lanka enjoyed in the multilateral arena. 
Edited by George I. H. Cooke, a diplomatic historian and former Sri Lankan diplomat, the first volume focuses on the period from 1948 to 1982, reviving the debate surrounding Ceylon’s challenging application process and final admission in 1955. It provides fresh awareness of the key players in New York, their principled stances and the means through which they achieved great heights for a small island in the Indian Ocean. 

With a foreword that has been co-authored by the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka, Adm. (Retired) Jayanath Colombage and the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Colombo, Senior Professor Nayani Melegoda, the publication also carries a Special Message from the Chairperson of the Third Committee of the UNGA in New York, Ambassador Katalin Bogyay. 
The first volume was launched on December 14, 2020 to mark the 65th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s admission to the UN. The keynote address was delivered by the Head of UN Habitat in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Dr. Chanaka Talpahewa, while the book was reviewed by Prof. Emeritus Amal Jayawardena. 

Several senior academics and practitioners of Foreign Policy sent messages of felicitation from overseas, notably Prof. Sharad Soni, Chairperson, Centre for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India; Vera El Khoury Lacoeuilhe, Diplomat at UNESCO, Member of the Independent Panel of Advisors for the Reform of the UN and Professor at the Sciences Po and Sorbonne Universities; as well as Dr. Titipol Phakdeewanich, Dean of the Faculty of Political Science, Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand.