ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s government under new president Ranil Wickremesinghe does not want any confrontation with any international partner at the upcoming United Nations’ Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions but will oppose any anti-constitutional move forced upon the country, Foreign Ministry Ali Sabry said.

Diplomats have told EconomyNext that Sri Lanka is likely to face a new resolution against the island nation’s human rights conduct and the new draft will include references to recent allegations of government suppression of protesters’ rights.

Minister Sabry will lead the Sri Lankan delegation to Geneva where he will brief the UNHRC on the government’s efforts on long sought reconciliation after the end of a 26-year war and how it is addressing past alleged human rights violations.

He said the past two resolutions have included an “external mechanism, external evidence gathering mechanism, charging Sri Lankan citizens outside the country and letting hybrid judges to come and hear the cases.

“Those are all against the constitution. We cannot agree with that,” Sabry appearing before the media for the first time as foreign minister told reporters in Colombo on Monday September 05.

“We are ready engage. We are not going to shut the door. We are a respected and dignified member of the international community. Our legacy is that,” he said.

The Office of the UN Human Rights High Commissioner has already started gathering evidence on Sri Lanka’s past human rights violations including during the final phase of a 26-year civil war, anti-Muslim riots from 2012 onward, and violations of basic human rights which have not been redressed by the state.

Already many top army officials including former army chief General Shavendra Silva have been banned from entering the United States of America over war crimes allegedly committed at the final stages of the conflict against the separatist Tamil Tigers in 2009 when thousands of Tamil civilians were allegedly killed.

Some other military leaders have been banned from entering many Western nations including Europe and Canada over the same allegations.

Minister Sabry, however, said some of the allegations are unfair and blanket while the accused have not been given an opportunity to defend themselves.

Under pressure after crisis

Sri Lanka’s chances at successfully resisting international pressure are likely to be minimum due to the ongoing economic crisis, analysts say.

Sri Lanka will be compelled to engage with all its partners given that its economic recovery depends on better relations with countries who hold a majority stake at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral financial agencies.

“We are not interested in any confrontations. We are interested in consensus and a cordial relationship with all multilateral agencies and [bilateral] countries,” said Sabry.

“We will engage. We will discuss with the core-sponsors, the Human Rights Commissioner and the Commissioners’ office and find the way out.

“But our ultimate mechanism and solution should lie within the constitutional frame.”

Foreign Ministry officials told EconomyNext that they have yet to confirm a new resolution against Sri Lanka but will have a clearer idea  when the delegation led by Minister Sabry meets the core group later this week in Geneva.

When asked how Sri Lanka will face the challenge from some Western nations which are opposed to China’s role in Sri Lanka, the minister said the island nation will navigate the current geopolitical moves to achieve its final aim.

“We have understood the strength of our country and we are realistic about that. That does not mean that we will allow anybody to interfere in our sovereignty and independence,” he said.

“You all know that global powers have a separate geopolitical issue. The challenge we face is how to work with everybody without getting involved in that issue. In that we may have to take some decisions which we can’t reveal right now.”

Sabry said Sri Lanka wants to navigate through both the IMF deal and the human rights issue “diplomatically”.

“If the the content in the resolution is harmful for us and cannot be agreed upon, we will be compelled to oppose it. Once we oppose it, we will try to get the support of all member countries.

“But we should be realistic. When we compare the current composition and the 2021 composition, we might mostly get fewer votes than what we got in 2021. But still, as an independent nation, we may not be able to agree [to  content that’s bad for Sri Lanka].” (Colombo/Sep05/2022)