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Foreign Secretary slams UN for ‘cherry-picking’ peacekeepers
View(s):By seeking the replacement of Sri Lankan peacekeepers serving in a relatively safe location, while expecting them to continue in high threat locations, the United Nations was resorting to “cherry picking” on a questionable basis, which bears hallmarks of politicisation of a sacred duty, Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha has observed.
His comments came during a meeting he had with Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under Secretary General of the United Nations Department of Peace Operations (UNDPO), in New York on Friday. He took up the UN’s decision to discontinue Sri Lankan Peacekeepers following the appointment of Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva as Commander of the Army. Mr Aryasinha is presently leading the Sri Lanka delegation to the 74th UN General Assembly Session.
In a statement, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said that upon the Foreign Secretary seeking clarification on the statement made on September 25 by the Deputy Spokesman of the UN Secretary General relating to Sri Lankan troops deployed for UN Peacekeeping, Mr. Lacroix said that only 25 percent of Sri Lankan troops presently engaged in peacekeeping operations will be replaced, when they complete their term in Lebanon. These places would be filled through a re-adjustment of existing peacekeepers presently in Lebanon.
Mr. Lacroix confirmed there will be no further reduction of Sri Lanka peacekeepers, the Ministry said.
It noted that Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary pointed out that the President had appointed Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva as the Army Commander in the context that there were no factually substantiated or proven allegations of human rights violations against him, and by virtue of his being Chief of Staff at the time.
The Foreign Secretary expressed Sri Lanka’s concern that there have also been serious discrepancies in the information released to the public domain by the UN. There was no reference to the delay in the joint National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (NHRCSL) and UN vetting of peacekeepers, which had been alluded to when the discussion of limiting peacekeepers was initially conveyed to the Government of Sri Lanka.
It was pointed out that while the MoU with the UNDPO clearly states that modalities for termination shall be agreed to following consultations between the parties, in this instance, the UN did not fulfill its obligation and took a unilateral decision and presented a fait accompli to Sri Lanka.
The Foreign Ministry statement said: “The decision was conveyed during a courtesy call by the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka on the UN USG, which was inappropriate. It was further regretted that there had been no communication with the Sri Lankan side by the UNDPO prior to the UNSG’s Deputy Spokesman going to the public domain. Additionally, the information with regard to the troop contributing country whose peacekeepers are expected to replace those of the Sri Lankan troops, was learnt by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Lebanon from the counterpart of the country concerned, at a diplomatic reception, rather than being professionally conveyed by the UNDPO.
“On behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, Foreign Secretary Aryasinha requested that the UNDPO reviews its decision in the context of the facts presented by the Government of Sri Lanka, thereby, being respectful of a country that has been a long standing contributor to UN Peacekeeping since 1960, and continues to serve in some of the most difficult theatres of action, having also suffered casualties.”