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Friday, August 14, 2009 - 6.11 GMT |
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Dr. Palitha
Kohona is new Permanent Representative of SL
to UN |
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Dr.
Palitha
Kohona,
will
shortly
assumed
duties
as the
Permanent
Representative
of Sri
Lanka to
the
United
Nations,
New
York.
 Dr.
Kohona before
assuming
the
current
position
he was
the
Foreign
Secretary,
Special
Advisor
on the
Peace
Process
and
Secretary-General
of the
Secretariat
for
Coordinating
the
Peace
Process
(SCOPP)
and was
a member
of the
Government
delegation
which
participated
in the
Peace
Talks
with the
LTTE in
2006.
He has
served
as the
Chief of
the
United
Nations
Treaty
Section,
New
York. He
held
this
position
since
1995.
The
Treaty
Section
is
responsible
for
discharging
the
Secretariat’s
mandate
to
register
treaties
under
Article
102 of
the
Charter
and the
depositary
functions
of the
Secretary-General
for
Multilateral
Treaties
e.g. The
Land
Mines
Convention,
Kyoto
Protocol,
Bio-Safety
Protocol,
Treaties
on
Terrorism
and
Organised
Crime
and
Human
Rights.
The
Treaty
Section
is the
custodian
of over
500
multilateral
treaties,
covering
the
spectrum
of
international
interaction.
At the
Treaty
Section,
Dr.
Kohona
implemented
a major
programme
of
managerial
changes,
including
a move
to a
highly
computerized
work
environment
and
significantly
improved
its
performance
and
output
earning
the UN21
Medal
for
superior
management.
He
participated
in many
sensitive
multilateral
negotiations
on
behalf
of the
UN
Office
of Legal
Affairs,
combining
his
legal
background
with his
experience
as a
diplomat.
He has
continued
to
maintain
a keen
interest,
particularly
on
environment,
terrorism
and
organized
crime
related
issues.
He led a
UN legal
delegation
to North
Korea in
2005 at
the
invitation
of the
DPRK
Government
at a
time
when
tensions
were
running
high. He
was also
a key
speaker
at a
seminar
organized
in
Canberra
by the
Australian
Joint
Parliamentary
Committee
on
Treaties.
Prior to
joining
the UN,
Dr.
Kohona
was with
the
Department
of
Foreign
Affairs
and
Trade of
Australia
since
1983.
Posted
to
Geneva
in 1989,
inter
alia, he
chaired
the
negotiating
group
that
developed
the
compliance
mechanism
under
the
Montreal
Protocol
to the
Convention
on the
Orzone
Layer.
He was
also
closely
involved
in the
negotiation
of major
multilateral
environmental
agreements
and in
the Rio
process.
Back in
Australia
in 1992,
Dr.
Kohona
was
attached
to the
Uruguay
Round of
Trade
Negotiations
institutional
mechanisms
and
dispute
settlement
unit and
subsequently
headed
the
Trade
and
Investment
Section
of the
Department.
He was
also
responsible
for
coordinating
advice
on trade
and
environment
related
issues,
including
those
falling
under
the
GATT/WTO.
Dr.
Palitha
Kohona,
who
hails
from
Matale,
received
his
secondary
education
in Sri
Lanka at
St.
Thomas
College,
Mt.
Lavinia.
He
proceeded
to
obtain a
LL.B (Hons)
at the
University
of Sri
Lanka
and a
LL.M
from the
Australian
National
University.
He
obtained
a
Doctorate
from
Cambridge
University,
UK, for
the
thesis –
‘The
Regulation
of
International
Trade
through
Law,’
subsequently
published
by
Kluwer,
Netherlands.
He is
also an
Attorney-at-Law,
Supreme
Court of
Sri
Lanka.
His new
appointment
to
follow
the
retirement
of M.G.S.
Palihakkara,
who was
a former
Permanent
Representative
of Sri
Lanka to
the
United
Nations
and he
retires
from his
current
posting
for
personal
reasons.
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