Overwhelming support for Sri Lanka at the Interactive Dialogue at the Human Rights Council

Sri Lanka received overwhelming support from countries of the Global South at the Interactive Dialogue on the written update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka, which concluded on Monday (7 March).

The Foreign Ministry said that these countries expressed support for the government’s significant efforts towards reconciliation and reiterated the importance of objective and constructive cooperation as the fundamental basis for multilateral engagement.

The Foreign Ministry has, in a media statement, said that of the 45 countries that spoke at the Interactive Dialogue, 31 spoke in support of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka received cross-regional support from a broad spectrum of states of South, South East and Central Asia and the African Group. The 31 countries that spoke in favour of Sri Lanka were Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Philippines, Nepal, Kenya, Ethiopia, the Maldives, China, Cuba, Japan, Syrian Arab Republic, Vietnam, DPRK, Venezuela, Nigeria, Pakistan, Cambodia, the Russian Federation, Lebanon, Uganda, Belarus, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, South Sudan, Lao PDR, Yemen, Iran, Niger, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh and Azerbaijan.

Excerpts of the Foreign Ministry statement: “The interventions from the States of the global south commended Sri Lanka’s commitment to promoting reconciliation and human rights through national processes including through legislative reform, and the progress achieved in this regard irrespective of COVID-19 related challenges. They also underscored the importance of the Human Rights Council and the international community supporting voluntary national processes, as well as upholding the core principles of impartiality, non-selectivity and non-politicisation.

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Friday (4 March 2022) at the commencement of the interactive dialogue, Prof. G.L. Peiris, while reiterating Sri Lanka’s commitment to continuing its voluntary international undertakings on human rights and engaging with the United Nations, including the UNHRC, referred to serious anomalies and weaknesses in the update presented by the High Commissioner.”