[followed by statements by the Core Group & Sri Lanka below]
Presentation of the High Commissioner’s annual reports on Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras
Oral update on the situation of human rights in Nicaragua
Presentation of the OHCHR annual report on Cyprus
Oral update on progress in reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka
Statement by Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, Director, Global Operations Division
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
58th Session of the Human Rights Council
3 March 2025
The full text of the statement is available on the HRC Extranet.
Mr. President,Excellencies,Distinguished delegates,
I have the honour to present today the reports of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras. I will also provide an update on the human rights situation in Nicaragua; present OHCHR’s report on Cyprus; and conclude with an update on Sri Lanka.
I turn to Sri Lanka, in implementation of HRC resolution 57/1.
Following presidential and parliamentary elections late last year, the National People’s Power coalition secured a large majority in Parliament, signalling a decisive mandate from the Sri Lankan people to undertake transformative social, political and economic reforms.
Economic crisis and austerity measures have impacted deeply on the poorest and most vulnerable in society. Creditors need to provide the Government with the fiscal space necessary to realize all human rights.
In his inaugural address to Parliament, President Kumara Dissanayake acknowledged the harms that have resulted from decades of ethnic divisions and racism. He pledged to address some longstanding human rights concerns, including by tackling corruption and ensuring accountability for the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and other emblematic cases.
These commitments to end impunity should extend to the large-scale violations that occurred during the civil war and prior insurgencies. These crimes must be thoroughly investigated, justice served to victims, and perpetrators held accountable.
The new Government has taken an initial step to appoint an expert panel to establish an Independent Prosecutor’s Office. This could help to address structural issues that have long obstructed justice and contributed to impunity. We also urge the new Government to reform and strengthen the Office of Missing Persons, including by appointing independent and credible members, to achieve meaningful progress in the thousands of cases of enforced disappearances.
The Government is taking steps to amend problematic legislation, such as the oppressive Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Online Safety Act.
All new laws must comply with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations, and be developed in a transparent, consultative, and inclusive manner.
Our Office continues to receive reports of surveillance and intimidation by security agencies in the North and East, highlighting the need for more fundamental security sector reforms. We urge the new Government to lift unnecessary regulation and restriction on civil society and independent media to revive the civic space.
This is an important opportunity in Sri Lanka’s history that must now translate into meaningful progress on accountability and human rights to heal societal divisions and break the cycle of impunity that has for so long wracked Sri Lanka’s past. Our Office is ready to support Sri Lanka and hopes it can report tangible results to this Council in September.
Thank you.
Sri Lanka Statement at the 58 Human Rights Council during the Item 2 General Debate. Delivered by UK Ambassador for Human Rights to the UN, Eleanor Sanders, on behalf of the Core Group on Sri Lanka. [Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom]
March 3, 2025
“We recognise that the new Sri Lankan Government has only been in place for four months, and we encourage Sri Lanka to use the opportunity that this transition represents to address the challenges it faces,” the core group said, presenting a joint statement at the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
The joint statement presented by UK Ambassador for Human Rights to the UN, Eleanor Sanders is as follows;
This statement is by the Sri Lanka Core Group comprising Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and the United Kingdom.
High Commissioner, we wish to thank you for your oral update on Sri Lanka
We would like to commend Sri Lanka’s peaceful elections and the smooth transition of power last year. We recognise that the new Sri Lankan Government has only been in place for four months, and we encourage Sri Lanka to use the opportunity that this transition represents to address the challenges it faces.
We appreciate the Government’s commitment to making meaningful progress on reconciliation and the initial steps taken, including returning land, lifting roadblocks, and allowing communities in the North and East to commemorate the past and memorialise their loved ones.
In order to build and sustain trust, it is essential to ensure the protection of civil society spaces, including by ending surveillance and intimidation of civil society actors and organisations.
We welcome commitments to implement devolution in accordance with the constitution and to make progress on governance reforms.
We take note of the Government’s stated intention to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act and emphasise that any new legislation should be in line with Sri Lanka’s international obligations. We encourage the release of those who remain detained under the Act.
As the Government seeks to make progress on human rights and corruption cases, we urge that any comprehensive reconciliation and accountability process carry the support of affected communities, build on past recommendations and meet international standards.
We also encourage the Government to re-invigorate the work of domestic institutions focused on reparations and missing persons.
We reaffirm our willingness to work with the Government to ensure that any future transitional justice mechanisms are independent, inclusive, meaningful, and meet the expectations of affected communities.
Time : 5 minutes
58th Session of the Human Rights Council:
Statement by PR/Geneva, (as the country concerned following the Oral Update on Sri Lanka by the High Commissioner for Human Rights)
03 March 2025
Mr. President,
Pursuant to the model conduct of a free, fair and peaceful election followed by a dignified transition in keeping with our decades of democratic practice, H.E. Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as the 9th Executive President of Sri Lanka in September last year, followed by the election of a new Parliament in November 2024, enabling the Government to move forward with a strengthened mandate to deliver on the people’s expectations for a new political culture and economic and social development in Sri Lanka.
The Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, in his address to this Council last week, highlighted that Sri Lanka has embarked on a new path, with a government built through the collective will of the people from the North, East, West and South of the country. He highlighted the Government’s commitment towards a unified Sri Lankan nation that respects diversity, and works towards removing all divisions based on race, religion, class and caste, and not allow a resurgence of racism or religious extremism in our country.
The Government has prioritized economic growth which will take place in a manner that is inclusive, where all citizens have enhanced economic opportunities allowing the resultant benefits to be reaped fairly by all strata of society. The rule of law, transparency, accountability and reconciliation will prevail in order to ensure sustained economic growth and social well-being of the people
The Government has committed to:
- protect democracy and human rights of all citizens including addressing past issues
- ensure the related domestic processes to be credible and independent within the Constitutional framework.
- And, to examine carefully and expand the work of the proposed truth and reconciliation commission, to investigate acts of violence caused by racism and religious extremism
Economic priorities of the Government include eradicating rural poverty, implementing the “Clean Sri Lanka” initiative to promote social, environmental, and ethical revival, and establishing a robust digital economy to foster innovation and sustainable growth. The Government is committed to ensuring assistance to all citizens affected by the conflict in consonance with its pledge to achieve sustainable peace, reconciliation and development in the conflict affected areas of the country.
Mr. President,
The work of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), about which we have been updating this Council regularly, continues, with enhanced public trust and functional and financial independence. The OMP regional offices also receive complaints directly from the people. The OMP is collaborating with national, bilateral and international partners including the ICRC and UN agencies as well as local CSOs. Through a national level steering committee, the OMP is working with government agencies. It also has a separate national CSO forum which functions at national as well as district level under Government Agents.
The work of the Office for Reparations goes beyond monetary compensation to include livelihood and psychosocial support as collective reparation initiatives. The OR is a comprehensive reparations scheme anchored in the rights of all Sri Lankans and functions as an effective remedy to contribute to the promotion of reconciliation for the wellbeing, and security of all Sri Lankans.
Following its establishment as an independent institution by Parliamentary Act of January 2024, the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR), has been further strengthened. The ONUR conducts training programs to promote social cohesion, religious coexistence and conflict transformation workshops providing opportunities for interfaith and intercultural dialogue particularly among the youth. Reconciliation committees established at grass root level comprising clergy, women’s groups, youth groups, government officials and civil society leaders are also involved in these activities. These committees have been established and are functioning in all grama niladhari divisions, which is the lowest level of local administration.
Mr. President,
We remain steadfast in our belief that national ownership with gradual reforms, is the only practical way forward to transformative change. We regret the continuing inconsistent application of human rights principles through the work of the Council. This has resulted in the erosion of trust in the human rights architecture making countries less likely to respect the noble purposes for which the Human Rights Council was created.
Sri Lanka has consistently spoken out against country specific resolutions that do not have the concurrence of the country concerned. We have reiterated our rejection of Resolutions 46/1, 51/1, and 57/1 and the external evidence gathering mechanism on Sri Lanka that has been set up using these divisive and intrusive resolutions.
The external evidence gathering mechanism on Sri Lanka within the OHCHR is an unprecedented and ad hoc expansion of the Council’s mandate, and contradicts its founding principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity. No sovereign state can accept the superimposition of an external mechanism that runs contrary to its Constitution and which pre-judges the commitment of its domestic legal processes.
Furthermore, serious concerns have been raised by a number of countries on the budgetary implications of this external mechanism, particularly at a time the UN is undergoing severe budgetary constraints.
As reaffirmed at previous sessions, the Government of Sri Lanka is determined to deal with human rights challenges including reconciliation through domestic processes. Sri Lanka will also continue its constructive engagement with the Human Rights Council and regular human rights instruments in a spirit of cooperation and constructive dialogue, as was done most recently when Sri Lanka actively and constructively engaged with the CEDAW committee for the review of our 9th periodic report.
Sri Lanka reiterates its commitment to multilateral cooperation in pursuit of peace, prosperity, and sustainability along with the promotion and protection of all human rights.
Thank you.
***
1.5 minutes
57th Session of the Human Rights Council, Agenda Item 2 – General Debate
Statement by Sri Lanka – 3rd March 2025
Mr. President,
Sri Lanka takes note of the High Commissioner’s oral update.
My Minister of Foreign Affairs addressed this Council last week and outlined the Government’s priorities on issues of interest to this Council.
UNGA Resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council (HRC) acknowledges development, peace and security and human rights to be interlinked and mutually reinforcing and that the promotion and protection of human rights should be based on the principles of cooperation and genuine dialogue. In this context, Sri Lanka underscores the urgent need for the global human rights framework to uphold consistency, objectivity and universality, and ensure that alleged violations are addressed impartially, regardless of the size or the influence of the country concerned. The Council should promote respectful dialogue with countries rather than impose punitive mechanisms, that are unproductive and lead to further divisions and confrontation.
Measures to protect human rights of a country must be guided by the founding principles of this Council and conducted through constructive engagement, cooperation and mutual respect, with due regard to national complexities and challenges
Sri Lanka has rejected HRC Resolutions 46/1, 51/1 and 57/1 and reiterates that supporting domestic initiatives and working in cooperation with the country concerned is the best and most sustainable way to advance and protect human rights, than divisive external methods which only lead to further polarization.
Mr. President,
The external evidence gathering mechanism on Sri Lanka within the OHCHR is an unprecedented and ad hoc expansion of the Council’s mandate, and contradicts its founding principles of impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity. No sovereign state can accept the superimposition of an external mechanism that runs contrary to its Constitution and which pre-judges the commitment of its domestic legal processes.
We are deeply concerned that at a time of serious budgetary constraints for the UN, such unwarranted external mechanisms are extended when grave humanitarian emergencies are suffering due to lack of funds elsewhere.
As informed to the 5th Committee of the UNGA last year the external mechanism on Sri Lanka required 16 staff employed in GTA positions and was allocated USD 6,354,900 over the past two years, while another USD 4,718,800 had been requested for its 15 month extension for the renewed mandate with no transparency on expenditure.
Mr. President
Sri Lanka is determined to deal with human rights challenges through domestic processes in keeping with our Constitution. We urge the Council to support nationally led processes rather than punitive ones that do not enjoy support of the countries concerned, and therefore are an unproductive use of scarce resources.
Thank you.