Dr. Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) based in Geneva, who was in Colombo on a three day visit from 5-7 November 2013, said that WIPO and Sri Lanka are working out a 10-Point Action Plan towards strengthening the Intellectual Property Regime (IPR) in the country. He acknowledged that Sri Lanka could accrue many benefits through greater focus on Intellectual Property (IP) and also noted that in a highly competitive world and a global marketplace, proper IPR safeguards need to be in place. Dr. Francis Gurry made these observations at the media briefing held in Colombo at the end of his visit to Sri Lanka.
Former Supreme Court judge C.V. Vigneswaran received his Chief Ministerial appointment letter from the Northern Province Governor – Major General G.A. Chandrasiri, today (Oct.01).
Vigneswaran, who was nominated as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council polls, obtained a total of 132,255 preferential votes topping the preferential vote list in Jaffna District.
Sri Lanka received strong cross-regional support in the Human Rights Council from countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America on Thursday ( 26 September 2013) which uniformly welcomed and commended the country’s significant progress achieved in the reconciliation process.
The world needs no policing by a few States, particularly when the UN is mandated to ensure international security, through multilateral engagement, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday.
Addressing the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Rajapaksa said it is disturbing to observe the growing trend in the international arena, of interference by some, in the internal matters of developing countries, in the guise of security, and as guardians of human rights.
Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha told the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday (25 September 2013) "Sri Lanka strongly repudiates the High Commissioner’s assertion that if certain concerns are not comprehensively addressed before March 2014, she believes the international community will have a duty to establish its own inquiry mechanisms". The Ambassador said High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay had "no mandate to make such a claim". He said having accomplished the task of bringing normalcy to the lives of the civilian population, GOSL has put in place "multiple mechanisms" to address concerns relating to accountability.
In an intervention made during the interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on Sudan in the 24th session of the Human Rights Council on 25 September 2013, Deputy Solicitor General Mr. A. H. M. D Nawaz said that, as a country that has emerged from a protracted terrorist conflict, Sri Lanka is empathetic to the many challenges faced by Sudan in its progression towards normalcy.