Only 25 percent of Sri Lankan Peacekeeping personnel to be repatriated : UN official

Only 25% of the troops from Sri Lanka presently engaged in peacekeeping operations will be replaced, when they complete their term in Lebanon, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.

Under Secretary General of the United Nations Department of Peace Operations (USSG/UNDPO), Jean-Pierre Lacroix revealed this during discussions with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha on the sidelines of the 74^th UN General Assembly Session in New York.

The discussions took place as Sri Lanka sought clarification on a statement made on  September 25, 2019 by the Deputy Spokesman of the UN Secretary General relating to Sri Lankan troops bing deployed for UN Peacekeeping. 

Further it was revealed that these vacant positions would be filled through a re-adjustment of existing Peacekeepers presently in Lebanon. USG Lacroix confirmed that there will be no further reduction of Sri Lanka Peacekeepers, the statement said.

Previously the United Nations suspended Sri Lankan Army deployments to its peacekeeping operations following  the appointment of  Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva as its Army chief.

Previously the 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 noted that in relation to this issue Sri Lanka was of the view that there have also been serious discrepancies in the information released to the public domain by the UN, the statement said.

Mr Ariyasinha pointed that the UN had violated the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Sri Lankan and the UN Department of Peace Operations (UNDPO), which requires the agreement of both parties to terminate troops.

“The decision (to ban troops) was conveyed during a courtesy call by the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka on the UN USG, which was inappropriate,” the statement read.

Aryasingha had pointed out that the appointment of the Army Chief has no links to the army personnel who are “thoroughly” and “jointly vetted” for peacekeeping operations.

“Thereby, the UN has overlooked the humanitarian aspect by implementing the said decision,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in its statement.

Accordingly, the Foreign Secretary had requested the UNDPO to review its decision “in the context of the facts” presented by the Sri Lankan government in this regard.