Sri Lanka's National Report under the 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) comes up for consideration by the UN Working Group on UPR on Wednesday 1st February 2023 during its 42nd Session to be held in Geneva.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) in 2006, as a State-driven voluntary peer-review process which provides the opportunity for each State to declare the steps taken at the national level to improve the human rights situation in that State and to fulfill their human rights obligations.
At the UPR, all 193 Member States of the UN are reviewed without any selectivity or discrimination. It is periodic and is repeated every four-and half years. 3 sessions are held each year and 14 countries are reviewed in one session. As such, each Member State of the UN is reviewed every 4 years.
All UN member States, including Sri Lanka, have participated in 3 cycles of the UPR namely, in 2008 (first), 2012 (second) and 2017 (third).
The 4th Cycle of the UPR commenced in November 2022 and Sri Lanka’s Fourth UPR is scheduled for 01 February 2023 during the 42nd session of the UPR Working Group, in Geneva. The following countries will also be reviewed under the UPR’s 4th cycle at the 42nd Working Group, during the period 23 January to 3 February 2023: Argentina, Benin, Czechia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and Zambia.
Sri Lanka’s National Report under the 4th Cycle of the UPR was submitted on 22 December 2022 and provides a self-assessment on the steps taken since the last UPR in November 2017, to fulfill our voluntarily undertaken human rights obligations. The process of preparation of the National Report was undertaken under the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Broad consultations were held with stakeholders from government and non-governmental organizations as well as the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s National Report is available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/lk-index
This year’s Review will take place in a hybrid format. Due to the 75th Anniversary of Independence celebrations falling during the same period, Sri Lanka’s delegation to the Review will be led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry by means of a pre-recorded video statement. The in-person delegation will be led by Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Himalee Arunatilaka and comprise senior officials from the Presidential Secretariat, the Attorney-General’s Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
31 January 2023
Mr President,
[I thank you Mr. President, for your kind words of welcome.]
Sri Lanka congratulates Egypt and you, Ambassador Ahmed Gamaleldin, on assuming the first Presidency of the 2023 session of the Conference on Disarmament. My delegation assures you and other P6 Presidencies of our full support and cooperation to find common ground for fulfilling CD’s obligations towards strengthening international peace and security. We also thank the Secretary General and the CD Secretariat for their continuous support.
I have the honour to make a statement at the plenary of this august Conference following my assumption of duties as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva earlier this month. It is a pleasure to be back in the Conference on Disarmament after 20 years; however it is sad to see that the CD is still going through excessive institutional pain year after year with no real progress on fulfilling its negotiating mandate. I look forward to working with all delegations in a spirit of cooperation and wish to reiterate our position that only through confidence building and equal respect for the security of all Member States that we will be able to achieve the much-needed consensus towards adopting a programme of work.
Mr President,
[I thank you Mr. President, for your kind words of welcome.]
Sri Lanka congratulates Egypt and you, Ambassador Ahmed Gamaleldin, on assuming the first Presidency of the 2023 session of the Conference on Disarmament. My delegation assures you and other P6 Presidencies of our full support and cooperation to find common ground for fulfilling CD’s obligations towards strengthening international peace and security. We also thank the Secretary General and the CD Secretariat for their continuous support.
I have the honour to make a statement at the plenary of this august Conference following my assumption of duties as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva earlier this month. It is a pleasure to be back in the Conference on Disarmament after 20 years; however it is sad to see that the CD is still going through excessive institutional pain year after year with no real progress on fulfilling its negotiating mandate. I look forward to working with all delegations in a spirit of cooperation and wish to reiterate our position that only through confidence building and equal respect for the security of all Member States that we will be able to achieve the much-needed consensus towards adopting a programme of work.
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
The Consulate General of Sri Lanka will be closed to the public from Monday 30th January until Wednesday 01st February 2023 due to ongoing renovations in the building. The Consulate General of Sri Lanka will reopen on Thursday 2nd February 2023.
For any emergency consular services, please contact +41 229191251, +41 227882441,
+41 229191250
Those who have already obtained appointments from Monday 30th January to Wednesday 1st February 2023, are kindly requested to visit the Consulate either before or after the above mentioned dates.
Thank you for your understanding.
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Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Switzerland
Geneva
View in Sinhala
Himalee Subhashini Arunatilaka, the new Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented her credentials to Tatiana Valovaya, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.
Prior to her appointment to Geneva, Ms. Arunatilaka served as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Nepal since October 2019. Ms. Arunatilaka is a career diplomat and has held numerous postings since 1998, including Director General of the African Affairs, Counter Terrorism and International Security Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from January to October 2019; Deputy High Commissioner at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Canberra, Australia, with concurrent accreditation to New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu from August 2015 to December 2018; and Minister Counsellor and Head of Chancery at the Sri Lankan Embassy in France, with concurrent accreditation to Spain and Portugal, from September 2006 to December 2009.
Ms. Arunatilaka also served as Acting Director General for Political Affairs at the Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States and Americas Division and Director of the Counter Terrorism Unit from April 2011 to January 2015, and Director of the Public Communications Division from December 2009 to September 2010. She served as First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva from November 2000 to December 2003. She has travelled as part of Sri Lankan delegations to many international and bilateral meetings.
Ms. Arunatilaka has a Master of Arts from Middlebury College in France (1996) and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in French, from the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee in the United States (1994). She was born on 9 March 1969 and is married.
View more: https://www.ungeneva.org
SRI LANKAN GEMS & JEWELLERY BEING SHOWCASED ONCE MORE AT FACETS SRI LANKA 2023 – THE PREMIER EDITION
Expired
For thirty years, FACETS has showcased the best of the gem and jewellery industry of Sri Lanka, a country labeled by ancient travelers as Ratnadveepa, or the Island of Gems.The Sri Lanka Gem & Jewellery Association hosts FACETS SRI LANKA 2023 – THE PREMIER EDITION From the 7th to 9th January 2023 At Cinnamon Grand Colombo, Sri Lanka
President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the COP 27 Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt said that unbridled industrialization of the developed countries is the root cause of climate change, leaving the poor to suffer the consequences. He said that the problems facing poor countries are augmented due to the absence of adequate funding.
As a result, these countries are facing double jeopardy – struggling to develop economically while fighting to protect the living standards of their populations.
Therefore, President Wickremesinghe said that the developed countries must deliver on their pledge in Glasgow – by doubling their funding to compensate the developing countries for loss and damage.