The 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is scheduled to commence today (08) in Geneva.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wijitha Herath, departed the country yesterday to participate in the session. The Minister is expected to address the Council today, during which he will present Sri Lanka’s official position.
Ahead of the session, the report on Sri Lanka’s human rights situation was released recently. The report highlighted that for many years, the Sri Lankan government has failed to acknowledge serious human rights violations allegedly committed by the military and other security forces. It also recommended that Sri Lanka accede to the Rome Statute, which empowers the International Criminal Court (ICC) to pursue cases related to alleged war crimes.
However, the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva has already issued a response to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ report. The Sri Lankan delegation pointed out that Sri Lanka has not accepted Resolution 57/1 of the Human Rights Council, which formed the basis of the report.
The delegation further emphasized that Sri Lanka continues to oppose the accountability project implemented under the resolution, stating that such external mechanisms undermine the domestic reconciliation process.
During his visit, Minister Herath is also scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with several senior diplomats. He is further expected to meet with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk for a special discussion.
