Sri Lanka has called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to ensure that no mandate, particularly country-specific mandates, is treated as indefinite, stressing the need for periodic reviews and clear pathways for concluding such mandates when countries demonstrate progress.
Addressing the General Debate under Agenda Item Two at the 63rd Session of the UNHRC in Geneva on Tuesday (8), Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Sumith Dassanayake, made the call in the presence of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
Dassanayake emphasised that, at a time when the international community is confronted with grave and urgent human rights situations, including armed conflicts, displacement and humanitarian crises, the UNHRC must ensure that its work and resources are directed towards the most pressing global challenges.
Addressing Türk, he stressed that all mandates, particularly country-specific mandates, should be subject to periodic review against clearly defined objectives and measurable outcomes. He also called for sunset clauses and phase-out provisions to be explicitly incorporated into country-specific resolutions where appropriate.
Dassanayake further stressed that when a country demonstrates progress through national processes, dialogue, cooperation and technical assistance, the UNHRC should provide a credible pathway towards concluding the relevant mandate.
During the debate, several like-minded countries expressed views commending Sri Lanka’s progress towards protecting and promoting the human rights of all Sri Lankans.
However, the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) welcomed concerns raised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights over what it described as a lack of progress on accountability for alleged human rights abuses and other issues affecting Sri Lanka’s Tamil community.
Responding to a statement made by Türk at the opening session, ITAK General Secretary, President’s Counsel M A Sumanthiran, said the party welcomed the written update issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), particularly its reference to the lack of progress on accountability and several longstanding issues concerning the Tamil people.
These issues, he said, included the release of lands occupied by the military, enforced disappearances, the release of political prisoners and investigations into the Chemmani mass grave.
Meanwhile, a group of countries led by the United Kingdom (UK) called on Sri Lanka to translate its stated commitment to human rights reform into concrete action, while welcoming recent steps taken by the Government.
The statement was delivered by the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders, during the 63rd session of the UNHRC in Geneva on Tuesday (8). It was issued on behalf of the Sri Lanka Core Group, comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia and the UK.
The group welcomed what it described as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ balanced assessment of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, while noting that the country has recently faced significant challenges, including severe weather events and global energy shocks.
The countries also welcomed Sri Lanka’s ratification of International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work, as well as its engagement on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
However, the group said further action was required to build public confidence in accountability and reconciliation efforts. It said that progress in several high-profile cases had not yet been matched by a comprehensive, victim-centred accountability process to address past HR violations.