Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is set to meet with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein this week, according to a report in the Ceylon Today.

The Sri Lankan president is set to meet with the human rights chief in New York, where he is currently attending the UN General Assembly.

Though the armed conflict in Sri Lanka has ended, many on the island “still face discrimination and hate” said the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Una McCauley, calling for more to be done for reconciliation.

In an address to mark the International Day of Peace 2017 on Thursday, Ms Cauley said “addressing the root causes of conflict and preventing violence requires our commitment and our unity”.

“In Sri Lanka, the war is over,” she noted. “Yet many still face discrimination and hate.”

She went on to state,

The Sri Lankan Civil Security Department’s (CSD) activities in the Vanni have embedded and normalised militarisation in the region as well as creating an “economic dependence on the military,” stated a report by the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR) today.

“The growth of the CSD in the Vanni points to the larger issue of the Sri Lankan military’s failure to transition into a reduced post-war role,” stated a press release. “Instead, the military’s approach to its post-war role has been to embed and normalize the process of militarisation, thereby extending its control and subjugation of Tamil populations in the Vanni.”

Pakistan's new prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi assured the Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena of his country's continued support on Tuesday at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. 

"Pakistan will commit to take the economic and trade relationship between the two countries to a stronger level through new a new approach," Mr Abbasi was quoted by Colombo Page as saying. 

Thanking Mr Abbasi for his country's support at the UN Human Rights Council, Mr Sirisena described Pakistan as a "true friend during a period of conflict in the country". 

Stating the government has made tremendous progress towards reconciliation, the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to support the country in making progress towards reconciliation. 

“As a country that has suffered violent conflict for 30 years, we are drawing from experience and lessons learned to strengthen national reconciliation, and we are determined to prevent the recurrence of conflict. We have given priority in this context to consolidate freedom and democracy in our country, and through a strong foundation of national reconciliation forged through unity and friendship among communities,” the President said.

Nine Indian fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan navy on Wednesday morning for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line, Colombo Page reported. 

The men along with their trawlers and fishing equipment were taken to the navy base in Karainagar. 

They will be handed over to the Assistant Fisheries Director of Jaffna, the paper reported. 

The Sri Lankan prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament today that Local Government polls could only be held after January 2018, the Daily Mirror reported.  

Mr Wickremesinghe reportedly said this was "because of GCE Ordinary Level Examination, which would be held in mid-December and because of the budget". 

"We will have to talk with the Polls Chief and political parties on this issue," he said.

The announcement that Sri Lanka will be accepted on the ‘Circle of Leadership on the prevention of and response to sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations operations’ has been slammed by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) today.

Responding to the move ITJP’s head Yasmin Sooka said she was “astonished” and “equally surprised that they will be allowed to do so”.

“This flies in the face of the Secretary-General's commitment to victims, manifested in his recent appointment of a Victims Advocate. Haitian victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by Sri Lanka peacekeepers have received scant reparation and justice", said Ms Sooka.

Sri Lanka's Speaker informed parliament on Tuesday the proposed 20th Amendment to the constitution would need a two third majority in parliament before being put before the public via a referendum in order to be implemented following a Supreme Court ruling. 

Mr Karu Jayasuriya told parliament that the Court had made the ruling as certain clauses within the draft proposal were reportedly deemed "unconstitutional". 

The Amendment seeks to hold all Provincial Council elections on the same day. 
 

The secretary for Sri Lanka's internal affairs ministry assured that there were no Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar in Sri Lanka, after a petition was launched to bar them from entering the island.

Sri Lanka's Controller General of Department of Immigration and Emigration Nihal Ranasinghe also told the Daily Mirror that visas would only be issued for Myanmar nationals and not for Rohingya refugees.