The Government insists it will not comply with the US resolution adopted at the UN Human Rights Council by providing any form of assistance for its implementation. Special human rights envoy to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Government Minister
Mahinda Samarasinghe said that the Government will maintain its position that it is against the resolution.
He said that no country can force Sri Lanka to accept or implement the resolution which was passed by a majority vote in Geneva last week.
The Minister said that even before the vote was taken the Government had rejected the US sponsored resolution and he said there was no change in that stand even now.
“We had clearly stated we are fully against the resolution. They will now try to implement the resolution but we will not provide any facilities or assistance to those who try to implement the resolution,” the Minister said.
He also said that there was a clear division in the UN Human Rights Council over the resolution and this was reflected in the results of the vote.
The resolution on Sri Lanka submitted was passed by a majority vote on Thursday with 23 countries of the 47 member council voting for and 12 against it while 12 abstained.
Samarasinghe also praised the position taken by India during the vote and the views expressed by the Indian envoy in Geneva.
The Indian Government made a surprise u-turn on the Sri Lankan issue by criticizing the US sponsored draft resolution and decided to abstain from voting in favor of the document.
The Indian delegation at the UNHRC, speaking ahead of the vote on the draft resolution, said that the resolution is inconsistent and impractical.
The Permanent Representative of India to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Dilip Sinha said that it has been India’s firm belief that adopting an intrusive approach that undermines national sovereignty and institutions is counterproductive.
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