Minister of Foreign Affairs Professor G. L. Peiris has had an informal discussion with the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday (March 18).

Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Admiral Jayanath Colombage also attended the said meeting.

At the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Core Group on Sri Lanka comprising Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Malawi, Montenegro, the United Kingdom and the United States, called out the Office of Missing Persons for its slow progress in fully investigating cases since the release of the preliminary list of missing persons is troubling.

Delivering a statement on behalf of the Core Group, UK’s Global Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French said their concerns over surveillance and intimidation of civil society persist and detentions, threats and intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders continue. It is crucial that civic space remains open.

The Core Group stressed that new ‘One Country One Law’ taskforce risks undermining Sri Lanka’s pluralist society. It urged Sri Lanka to ensure that this taskforce’s work is inclusive and non-discriminatory.

The Core Group called for full cooperation with the High Commissioner, stating that it remain ready to support the Sri Lankan government on the implementation of resolution 46/1.