Sri Lanka’s Deputy Permanent Representative in Geneva Mrs. Samantha Jayasuriya said that ‘as a country with a sizeable number of its citizens working abroad, the Government of Sri Lanka places migration high in its national development policy’ and have made considered efforts to improve its national labour migration policies and governance, at national, bilateral, regional as well as international levels.
Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva delivered the Statement on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka as the country concerned during the Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur (SR) on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Mr. Diego García-Sayán, at the 35th Session of the Human Rights Council today (12 June 2017). The Statement followed the presentation of the Report (A/HRC/35/31/Add 1) on the visit of previous Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Ms. Mónica Pinto to Sri Lanka from 29th April to 7th May 2016.
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
12 June 2017
Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Dr. Rajitha Senaratne addressing the 70th World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting in Geneva on Tuesday (23 May 2017) said that the “Sri Lanka has achieved much progress in health care delivery due to cost-efficient use of resources and the coordinated use of its well ingrained primary, secondary and tertiary health care facilities”.
A comprehensive study on promoting awareness on the role of Intellectual Property (IP) in promoting tourism- related economic activities and culture of the country is nearing finalization in consultation with the National Steering Committee chaired by Secretary Ministry of Tourism and WIPO experts. Last year, Sri Lanka was selected as one of 4 pilot countries - the others being Ecuador, Egypt and Namibia for this WIPO pilot project on “Intellectual Property, Tourism and Culture”.
Minister Susil Premajayantha, Minister of Science, Technology and Research of Sri Lanka has emphasized the importance of setting up cross –border cooperation among manufacturing and consuming countries, and in this regard, called for establishing a ‘Global Fund’, with the support of manufactures and voluntary contributors, through which e-waste management in those end-user countries be financed sustainably. He noted that financing e –waste management solely through imposing taxes at the importers level (upstream) or consumers level (downstream) could have negative effects on the access to technology by citizens in developing countries. He also called for increased awareness raising efforts among the public on sustainable waste management.
Highlighting the positive dividends migrant health agenda could contribute to both the individual migrants and to their host countries, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha emphasised that the Migrant Health be an essential element of the 2018 final Global Compact on Migration (GCM) document. Ambassador Aryasinha made these remarks during Sri Lanka’s intervention on 8th May 2017, at the first informal thematic discussion on development of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, held from 8 -9 May 2017 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, which focused on human rights of migrants, including their social inclusion and cohesion and all forms of discrimination, including racism, xenophobia and intolerance. During the session, Sri Lanka also officially tabled the ‘Colombo Statement on Migrant Health’ adopted at the 2nd Global Consultation on Migrant Health, held in Sri Lanka from 21-23 February 2017, as an input to the GCM process.
Minister of Science, Technology and Research, Susil Premajaytha has announced that a Steering Committee will be established in Sri Lanka to develop physics education at the high school and university levels and to strengthen cooperation with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The Committee would comprise of a core group drawn from universities and relevant agencies, such as the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research, COSTI, NSF, etc.
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