President insists Sri Lanka will not succumb to pressure from Geneva

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has insisted that Sri Lanka will not succumb to pressure from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

The President said that Sri Lanka’s sovereignty was betrayed by the former Government by co-sponsoring a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC.

He said that the current Government withdrew from the resolution and now there is pressure on Sri Lanka from some countries.

However, the President said Sri Lanka is not shaken and is prepared to face the pressure.

“We are a free nation. We can deal with our own issues.? We can face those pressures,” he said.

The President also said that Sri Lanka is not prepared to get involved in the power struggle of other countries in the Indian Ocean,” he said.

The President said that Sri Lanka will not betray its sovereignty to meet the expectations of other countries.

The UNHRC recently passed a resolution on Sri Lanka establishing a powerful new accountability process to collect, analyze, and preserve evidence of international crimes committed in Sri Lanka for use in future prosecutions.

The resolution was adopted in response to a devastating report in January by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on the failure of successive Sri Lankan governments to provide justice and accountability for the victims of the war.

It establishes a dedicated new capacity within the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights ?to collect, consolidate, analyse and preserve information and evidence? of gross violations of human rights or serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in Sri Lanka, and ?to advocate for victims and survivors, and to support relevant judicial and other proceedings, including in Member States, with competent jurisdiction.? (Colombo Gazette)