Decisions of countries in their internal matters should be respected : Foreign Secretary Ariyasinha

Sri Lanka today (Sept 30) stressed the need to respect the decisions of countries in their internal matters, warning that the UN would be vilified if it is misled by “entities with vested interests”.

“The UN must also desist from making decisions without a valid consultative process,” Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha, speaking at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly said.

During his address, Mr. Aryasinha cautioned that failing to doing so would create distrust and jeopardise relationships among countries.

While stating that Sri Lanka is committed towards peace, the Foreign Secretary urged that “obstacles must not be placed in Sri Lanka’s peacekeeping efforts”.

His remarks came in the wake of the UN’s decision to ban Sri Lankan troops from peacekeeping duties citing the controversial appointment of the country’s Army Chief, accused of human rights violations.

Aryasinha pointed out that Sri Lanka has been engaged in peacekeeping efforts since the 1960’s by deploying troops to countries such as Liberia, Timor, South Sudan, and Mali.

He heaped praise on Sri Lankan military personnel by stating that “few countries can qualitatively match the troops sent by Sri Lanka who have extensive professional experience in all aspects of peacekeeping,”

Meanwhile, Aryasinha also said that Sri Lanka has achieved “sustainable progress” in achieving sustainable development goal (SDG)’s However, he observed that climate change has had an adverse impact on these outcomes.

Accordingly, the foreign secretary expressed Sri Lanka’s commitment towards “climate related global initiatives”, quality education, and poverty eradication - which he said has been a priority in Sri Lanka's development strategy.

While recalling the tragic Easter Sunday attacks, Aryasinha called on all countries to work in collaboration to defeat the root causes of terrorism.