Sri Lanka says the United Nations must fully respect the principle of sovereign equality in its interactions with member states.

In a written Statement to the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on ” Peace Operations and Human Rights”, the Sri Lankan delegation said UN as the largest global body that is committed to ensure the rights of every human being should always remain impartial.

The Foreign Ministry quoted the Sri Lankan delegation as saying that the credibility of institutions that promote the adherence to and protection of human rights can be significantly undermined when they are unduly politicized.

“There have been instances where unproven allegations of human rights violations were used as instruments to unduly pressurize and manipulate contributions to peacekeeping by governments for undue political gains,” the Sri Lankan delegation said.

Sri Lanka also noted that in an era where humanity is threatened with inter-state conflicts, intra-state frictions, asymmetrical threats posed by non-state actors, natural disasters, health related issues and a variety of other challenges, Sri Lanka appreciates Germany’s efforts to initiate discussion on the timely subject of  “Peace Operations and Human Rights”.