What Should Parliament Do About The UNHCR Inquiry
R.M.B. Senanayake
The Government has taken up the position that the UN has no mandate to inquire into the alleged violations of human rights during the war and that it is an encroachment on our national sovereignty.
At the UN’s founding Conference in San Francisco in 1945 this is what President Truman said “ We all have to recognize, no matter how great is our strength that we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we please.” Of course the USA has not always followed Truman’s suggestion. The Five Members of the Security Council agreed to be members of the UN only if they were given the right of veto and they have continued to exercise it depending on whether the UN intervention is against one of their allies or not. But they have not rigidly followed the principle of debarring UN intervention on the ground of national sovereignty.
The UN Charter was drafted in consultation with experts from all the main religions. U Thant represented the world’s Buddhist opinion. The core principles of holding government authority to account and placing the wishes of the people before the rulers is found in the philosophical traditions across the Asian continent, including in Confucianism. So the Charter has been accepted universally by States who are the Members of the UN. Read More
