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FM says Sri Lanka wants eventual closure of human rights issue
26 Mar, 2019
Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana told Parliament today that Sri Lanka wants eventual closure of the human rights issue.
He said that at the just concluded 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Sri Lanka co-sponsored resolution 40/L.1 mandating an extension of two years until March 2021 to implement commitments undertaken in Resolution 30/1.
“In my statement to the Council I stressed the importance of 40/L.1 being fully owned by Sri Lanka. ?I explained the spirit in which Sri Lanka co-sponsored the resolution this year, as we did twice previously. We have no illusions on the political, legal and social barriers that have to be surmounted,” he said.
The Minister said that Sri Lanka?s co-sponsorship of this year?s Resolution assures to all stakeholders, the Sri Lankan society at large, and to Sri Lanka’s interlocutors outside the country, that Sri Lanka will continue to move forward within the stated parameters, with a view to the ensure eventual closure of the issue.
He also said that his Ministry will continue to conduct its foreign relations in an independent, forthright and non-aligned manner to promote and safeguard Sri Lanka?s interests abroad as well as protect Sri Lanka?s national interest, sovereignty and identity.
These fundamental and crucial elements, he says, complement the goal of working towards greater prosperity for the country and the people of Sri Lanka. (Colombo Gazette)
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