Sri Lanka refrained from calling for a vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as it did not want to waste public funds on a vote it was bound to lose, Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament yesterday.
“Past governments using public funds and time, knowing that they would, performed media circuses,” Herath said, making a statement on the UNHRC adopting Resolution 60/L.1/Rev.1 against Sri Lanka without a vote.
“That is not our policy.”
The Minister said that in the past, successive governments had sent large delegations overseas at public expense, spending millions in a futile bid to win support.
“Votes for Sri Lanka decreased at each consecutive session, while the number of abstentions increased,” he said.
Sri Lanka secured 15 votes in favour in 2012, 13 in 2013, 12 in 2014, 11 in 2021, and only seven in 2022. “Sri Lanka has only won one vote and that was in 2009,” he said, adding that the composition of the Council made it difficult for Sri Lanka to win.
The Minister also said that a Bill to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission would be presented to Parliament shortly. New legislation to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) would also be introduced soon, he added.
“Sri Lanka’s human rights issue has already been internationalised and complicated by the time this government took office in 2024,” Herath noted.
The Minister also announced that provincial council elections would be held next year, once the ongoing delimitation process was completed.
“Parliament has a duty regarding the delimitation process,: Herath said, responding to questions raised by opposition MPs in Parliament.