Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Geneva said his government looks to obtain “expertise and technical assistance” from the United Nations after a report by the Working Group of Enforced Disappearances called for international judges to be involved in an accountability mechanism.
Responding to the report, which reiterated the importance of including international actors in any accountability mechanism, Ravinatha Aryasinha told the UN Human Rights Council that Sri Lanka would “work closely and in consultation with the United Nations system and the OHCHR as well as other international experts”.
However the ambassador went on to state that engagement with the UN system would involve obtaining “advice and views, and also expertise and technical assistance that will benefit us in terms of capacity building and ensuring the strengthening of our own local institutions”.
He did not mention any accountability processes, instead telling the global body that Colombo was undertaking a consultation process for “designing and drafting of legislation for the reconciliation mechanisms”.
The ambassador continued to call on the international community to ensure “economic development which is essential for entrenching the reform agenda”.
See the full text of his address here.
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