The four-week-long Seventh Session of the UN Human
Rights Council which concluded yesterday (March 28)
in Geneva took action on more than 35 resolutions
and decisions on the promotion and protection of
human rights and Sri Lanka was not on its agenda
once again.
There was no action taken by the Council on the
country’s human rights situation in any of the three
standard forms, namely a resolution, a special
session or a statement by the President of the
Council.
A clear majority of members of the Council showed
their solidarity with Sri Lanka in its efforts to
promote and protect human rights while combating
terrorism. Reference to Sri Lanka’s human rights
situation was made by several Western countries and
Sri Lankan and international NGOs which attended the
Seventh Session. However, such criticism fell well
short of gaining necessary support within the
Council for any specific action on Sri Lanka due to
a successful briefing campaign spearheaded by the
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva.
This campaign was a part of Sri Lanka’s
long-standing policy of open and constructive
engagement with the international community on human
rights issues.
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