Prejudice Against UNHRC And Human Rights Is Part Of Our Problem
By Laksiri Fernando -March 20, 2014
Dr. Laksiri Fernando
There are frenzied protests organized by the supporters of the government against the impending resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), inside and outside the country. All these are by and large orchestrated by the government. Instead what they should have done is to negotiate the terms of the resolution diplomatically, both behind and open doors, to safeguard any national interests that might be jeopardized as a result of the implementation of such a resolution. The draft resolution allows ample opportunities for such negotiations directly by the Sri Lankan government.
Instead of negotiating themselves, the matter has completely been left for the friends of Sri Lanka, quite dubiously by the government. This is not the picture however given to the people in Sri Lanka. At the informal consultations held on the 18th, the Russian Federation, China and Pakistan have proposed some changes to the formulations of the resolution, undoubtedly favorable to Sri Lanka, but they have not touched very much on the operational paragraphs. It is reportedly Cuba, backed by Vietnam that have objected to the key operational paragraphs, but those objections will not take the resolution or Sri Lanka anywhere.
Possible Negotiations Read More
