President Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed that the implementation of Sri Lanka’s National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) should be carried out only with government funds and not funds from a UN agency.
The directive, just two days ahead of the official release of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) final report, came at the weekly Cabinet meeting.
Government spokesperson and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella announced at a news briefing on Thursday that the Cabinet had approved the implementation of the plan. He said that the Cabinet had approved the Action Plan itself in September, this year.
A Cabinet Memorandum obtained by the Sunday Times revealed that Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries and the President’s Special Envoy on Human Rights, had sought cabinet approval to obtain US$ 150,000 (Rs 15 million) from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
In the Cabinet Paper, Mr. Samarasinghe notes, “that the preparatory work connected with drafting Sri Lanka’s National Human Rights Action Plan, editing and finalization since late 2008 has been achieved under external project funding secured by my efforts; the responsible unit being initially situated at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, and, presently at the Ministry of Plantation Industries.”
He has said that the costs “involved in all aspects of the preparatory work including drafting, co-ordination, supporting the meetings and consultations, preparation of documentation, translation, proofreading and printing in three national languages, the development of the website, the launch event and associated costs, have been drawn on Government of Sri Lanka resources, but have been secured from external sources under two successive UNDP supported projects.”
He has said that the present project is due to be concluded on December 31.
Therefore, Mr. Samarasinghe said, “external funding has become essentially necessary to ensure the continuity of dissemination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation activities of the NHRAP without having recourse to Government funds.” |
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