The Sri Lanka foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera on Thursday said Sri Lanka was committed to implementing the UN Human Rights Council co-sponsored by the government.
Speaking during an official visit to Australia, Mr Samaraweera pointed to three pillared approach of the government.
Speaking during an official visit to Australia, Mr Samaraweera pointed to three pillared approach of the government.
"Parliament will be convening for the first time Constitutional Assembly in order to start the process of designing Sri Lanka’s third republican constitution that will further strengthen parliament, the courts and independent bodies and reduce the centralization of power in the presidency.See here for full address.
The new constitution is also one of three main prongs of the Government’s reconciliation strategy. For it is our failure as a country to accept and celebrate our diversity and address the justifiable grievances of our different communities that caused the ethnic conflict and war. In fact, if not for this, Sri Lanka would have most likely fulfilled the destiny that we predicted in a London newspaper on the day of her independence, nearly seventy years ago, and become the “Switzerland of the East”. The new constitution will ensure that power is shared so that citizens are empowered to be involved and have a greater say in the decisions that affect their lives and help ensure that the country is truly united.
The second prong is coming to terms and dealing with our past. We know that if we are to move forward this is necessary, so Sri Lanka co-sponsored a resolution in Geneva that outlines a four pillar approach based on truth, accountability, reparations and non-recurrence. Consultations on the design of the Missing Persons Office, TRC, Accountability Mechanism and Office of Reparations are currently underway.
Third, we are addressing the plethora of issues that remain in the conflict affected areas of the island. One of the first steps the government took was the restoration civilian administration in the North and East, the government has released over 3400 acres of land and we are working hard to improve living standards."