The attention of the President was drawn to the issues which arise due to delays in clearances by the Human Rights Council (HRC) when dispatching Police and security forces personnel to United Nations Peacekeeping Missions.

President had a discussion with members of HRC in this regard today (20) and instructed the Council to take immediate measures to resolve this issue through common understanding and liaison between relevant parties.

Sri Lanka will be at a loss when there is an undue delay in deploying our officers to UN missions and it will not only have a negative impact on the economy but also damage the trust and faith UN had placed on Sri Lanka, President pointed out.

Our forces are on high demand due to their discipline and valor, President said while adding that since Sri Lanka had been offered training opportunities by several countries, the mechanism to select suitable candidates to follow such training courses should be implemented in a proper manner.

Since 2004, Sri Lanka had been sending troops on UN missions and at present too a large contingent of our country is serving in different parts of the world.

The Secretary of Defence Major General Shantha Kottegoda,  senior security officials and the Chairman of HRC Deepika Udugama joined the President in this discussion.