Draft UN Resolution on Sri Lanka adopted in UNHRC without vote

A draft UN Resolution- A/HRC/57/L.1 titled "promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka" was adopted without a vote during the ongoing 57th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) today. 

Making a statement at UNHRC sessions in Geneva, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mohan Pieris said that Resolution 51/1 was tabled without Sri Lanka’s consent as the country concerned, and was adopted by a divided vote. 

"As such, any subsequent decision extending mandates established by this resolution lacks consensus in the Council," he said. 

Earlier, the government opposed HRC resolution 51/1 and the preceding HRC resolution 46/1 under which an external evidence gathering mechanism has been established within the OHCHR.

We also disassociated from the Report of the High Commissioner, for the reasons outlined in our detailed response to this Council contained in document A/HRC/57/G/1, the statement by the Lankan Representative to the UN said.

"As we have repeatedly reminded this Council, setting up of this external evidence-gathering mechanism within the OHCHR is an unprecedented and ad hoc expansion of the Council’s mandate, and contradicts its founding principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity,"

No sovereign state can accept the superimposition of an external mechanism that runs contrary to its Constitution and which pre-judges the commitment of its domestic legal processes, Mr Pieris said. Furthermore, many countries have already raised serious concerns on the budgetary implications of this mechanism given its ever-expanding mandate.

 
Stressing that Sri Lanka is obliged to reject the draft resolution which is tabled before this Council today seeking to extend the mandate of Resolution 51/1, the Lankan representative UN said Sri Lanka will continue its longstanding constructive engagement with this Council including with regular human rights bodies, and all core Human Rights treaties to which we are party, as well as our commitments under the UPR process." We will keep the Council updated on the progress we make,"

 
"At a time of intense cynicism and polarization within the multilateral arena on human rights and humanitarian situations in the context of the on-going travesties of these norms, we urge the co- sponsors of this politicized draft resolution which we oppose, to support and encourage the Government’s clear intention to address human rights and reconciliation through domestic processes and in line with our international obligations,"

The government also reiterated that justice will be delivered to the victims of the senseless Easter Sunday attacks.