UNHRC adopts draft resolution on Sri Lanka without a vote

The draft resolution A/HRC/57/L.1 on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka has been adopted without a vote during the ongoing 57th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

The draft resolution is sponsored by countries including the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Malawi, Montenegro, North Macedonia and the United States of America.

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the UN, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international human rights treaties, the Human Rights Council has decided to:

Recalling previous Human Rights Council resolutions on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, the most recent of which being resolution 51/1 of 6 October 2022, 

1. Welcomes the report of Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, presented to the Human Rights Council at its present session; 

2. Decides to extend the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner and all work requested of it by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 51/1, and requests the Office to present an oral update to the Council at its fifty-eighth session and a comprehensive report on progress in reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka at its sixtieth session, to be discussed in an interactive dialogue.

On Tuesday, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers agreed to strongly reject the proposed drafted resolution at the present session of the United Nations Human Rights Council and that Sri Lanka continues to oppose the 51/1 resolution of the drafted resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council and has not agreed to any resolution that extends the powers of the collection of external evidence mechanism.

Furthermore, the Cabinet of Ministers agreed that even though, the said proposal has been denied, Sri Lanka has firmly believed to take action in respect of main human right issues including the reconciliation through local procedure.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet has also reached an agreement that Sri Lanka will continue to engage in the cooperative and meaningful discussions with the Human Rights Council and regular human right mechanism further.