Sri Lanka Rejects UN Human Rights Report, Accuses OHCHR of Exceeding Mandate

September 11, Colombo (LNW): The Government of Sri Lanka has firmly rejected the latest report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, accusing the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of exceeding its mandate by commenting on macroeconomic, financial, and budgetary issues that fall under the sovereign parliamentary purview.

Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Himalee Arunatilaka, responding to the report, emphasized that the nation has successfully stabilized its economy through prudent economic decision-making, financial oversight, and governance, a fact that has been widely recognized.

Sri Lanka reiterated its commitment to engaging with the UN, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and the related treaties. The Ambassador highlighted that while economic strengthening for the prosperity of all Sri Lankans remains a government priority, the country is also making progress on national unity and reconciliation through various domestic processes. These include the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), the Office for Reparations (OR), the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR), the Office for Overseas Sri Lankans, and the Interim Secretariat for the Truth and Reconciliation Mechanism (ISTRM).

Ambassador Arunatilaka underscored the implementation of social protection measures, such as the ‘Aswesuma’ programme, to support vulnerable groups. She also expressed Sri Lanka’s disapproval of the OHCHR report, stating that it lacked balance and failed to acknowledge the atrocities committed by the LTTE during decades of conflict.

Sri Lanka strongly rejected Resolution 51/1 and the external mechanism established within the OHCHR, calling it unwarranted and counter-productive.