Sri Lanka notes serious anomalies in Bachelet’s report

Sri Lanka has noted serious anomalies in the report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet.

Foreign Minister G.L Peiris said that Sri Lanka is convinced that there are serious anomalies and weaknesses in the report presented to the Council by the High Commissioner.

The Foreign Minister told the Council that the fundamental deficiency is its intolerably intrusive character, impinging as it does on core functions and responsibilities of organs of the Sri Lankan State, overwhelmingly mandated by the people of our country at three successive elections.

“There is, as well, a clearly discernible element of discrimination, in that the Council would certainly not take it upon itself to embark on a similar inquisitorial procedure in respect of other Member States.?This, in itself, strikes at the very root of the foundations of the United Nations system. The issue of uniformity and consistency of standards applied by the High Commissioner to Member States, irrespective of their size and influence, and in steadfast conformity with the essential principle relating to the sovereign equality of all members of the United Nations fraternity, is cynically transgressed in several portions of this report,” he said.

The Minister said that it is particularly disturbing because the strength and prestige of the United Nations, and especially the Human Rights Council, derive from the widespread regard of the international community, as a whole, for the moral and ethical basis underpinning the attitudes of the Council.

“We fervently believe that it is vitally important to retain this confidence undiminished, especially having regard to the fate of the Human Rights Commission, the predecessor of this Council. It is a matter for deep regret that numerous instances of unsubstantiated allegations and superficial conclusions insensitive to the complexity of ground situations have found their way into the report. We have commented on these in extensive detail in our written response,” he said.

He said the Government is also dismayed by the High Commissioner?s unwarranted onslaught on seminal institutions of Sri Lanka which function under the aegis of Sri Lanka?s Constitution and legal system, emanating from a rich and varied cultural heritage, and are subject to stringent review processes which form an integral part of our tried and tested laws.

“There is also the question of use of stringently limited resources in such a manner as to achieve optimal benefit for all of humanity at a time of unprecedented crisis. The colossal expenditure of millions of dollars in a partisan and specifically targeted pursuit of Sri Lanka is hardly consonant with this obvious imperative. It seems to us a great pity that the report shows scant regard for these considerations which appear to a wide swath of nations to be crucially important at this time,” he said.

The Foreign Minister said the Government of Sri Lanka is firmly resolved to maintain the security and stability that they have restored for its people and ensure sustainable progress in an equitable manner.? (Colombo Gazette)