After the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted the resolution on Sri Lanka today (March 23), Foreign Affairs Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the number of votes that the European nations expected against Sri Lanka did not materialize.

Out of the 47 member states of the Human Rights Council, only 22 had voted in favour of the draft resolution presented by the Core Group, he noted, adding that this was not the result European countries predicted. He said the Core Group could not secure majority votes as expected.

“We thank all those countries who stood up for the defense not only of Sri Lanka but also of all other sovereign nations of the world,” he said. He appreciated the countries that voted against the resolution and abstained from voting.

Convening a press conference, the minister said this is not a time to bring country-specific resolutions. “Don’t waste time unnecessarily on a country-specific resolution by trying to punish Sri Lanka.”

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday adopted the draft resolution L1/Rev.1 titled “Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka” which was tabled at the 46th Regular Session of the council.

Foreign Affairs Minister said this resolution was highly uncalled for.

Speaking further, the minister said, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa with his mandate in 2019, soon after his being elected as the head of the state, decided as promised to the country to withdraw from the co-sponsorship of the resolution on Sri Lanka, which the previous government had agreed to.
However, constitutionally it was not possible, he emphasized. “Even my predecessor [former] Minister Marapana mentioned in an international forum that constitutionally Sri Lanka cannot go forward with co-sponsored resolution. So, we withdrew from the co-sponsorship.”

“Any of these resolutions, without the consent and acceptance of the country concerned, cannot be implemented.”

Foreign Affairs Minister stressed that Sri Lanka restored human rights by defeating the LTTE. “The LTTE massacred all Tamil democratic leaders. LTTE massacred innocent youths of the north and east.”

He added that Sri Lankan forces were able to bring the conflict to an end, so that Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities could live with a sense of security.