Dinesh says UNHRC resolution a "dangerous precedent"

Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena in a hard-hitting statement on the UN Human Rights Council Resolution has said it would lead to a polarization of the Sri Lakan society.

 

In a special statement to Parliament he said the resolution will have an adverse effect on the ongoing efforts to maintain peace, reconciliation and economic development in the country.

 

“This sets a dangerous precedent and will have wide ranging implications for all countries. “, he said.

 

He said Sri Lanka considers the draft resolution to be unwarranted, unjustified and in violation of the relevant Articles of the United Nations Charter, in particular Article 2(7) and relevant Sections of the United Nations Resolution 60/251 that provides for the mandate of the Human Rights Council. For the above reasons, this Resolution against Sri Lanka is illegal.

 

The Resolution goes on to violate Article 2 (7) of the Charter which states: "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state...".  

 

Instead, to promote and protect Human Rights; to make recommendations relating to human rights violations; and be guided by "universality, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity", he added.   

 

This Resolution against Sri Lanka is pushed forward at the behest of a few countries, representing one part of the world without the consent of Sri Lanka. It is therefore unhelpful and divisive. There is no moral right to interfere into affairs of a sovereign country in this manner.

 

Reasons for this political campaign against Sri Lanka may vary from their domestic electoral compulsions to geopolitical interests. It is regrettable that countries with vested interests seek to achieve their political and strategic ambitions either through political destabilization or economic deprivation of the less influential countries of the global South, using the Human Rights Council as a tool, he said.

 

Sri Lanka will continue to engage constructively with the UN and its agencies in the same spirit of cooperation that have stood for over six decades for the betterment of its people, including through the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, in keeping with domestic priorities and policies as well as international obligations and undertakings.