Samarasinghe to address the UNHRC on Friday

Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe will address the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, the Minister’s office said. The Minister, who had already spoken when the Council began meeting for the 22nd session last month, will address the session for the second time when Sri Lanka’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report is taken to be adopted on Friday.

In his last speech at the Council during the opening week of the 22nd session, Samarasinghe criticised the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. His comments drew flak from Germany who said it was an unfair and unjust criticism of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. In the UPR report to be adopted on Friday, which was initially submitted in Geneva last year, Sri Lanka elaborated on plans to achieve improvements in human rights in the context of post-conflict peace-building and reconciliation.

It noted that, as a result of the 2008 Review, a National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (NHRAP), a principal pledge, has been formulated based on recommendations, accepted pledges made, recommendations of treaty bodies and special procedures.

The government said that the NHRAP was approved by the Cabinet and the implementation strategy was approved in December 2011. The UPR on Sri Lanka was held last November in Geneva. During the UPR, Sri Lanka rejected 98 and accepted 111 recommendations submitted by countries at the UPR. (Colombo Gazette)