Sri Lankan Opposition slams UNHRC resolution

It violates our sovereignty and Constitution, says Mahajana Eksath Peramuna leader.

A section of Opposition lawmakers on Monday came down heavily on a resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) this month on accountability in Sri Lanka.

“The resolution violates our sovereignty and Constitution,” Dinesh Gunawardene, leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and considered an ally of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, told The Hindu. By deciding to co-sponsor the resolution, the government has “failed in defending interests of the country”.

They organised a protest rally Colombo against the resolution.

Vasudeva Nanayakkara, chief of the Democratic Left Front, said UN bodies were not expected to adopt country-specific resolutions.

“There can be resolutions on policies.” Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Friday Forum, a civil society group, questioned the argument that the government’s support for the UNHRC resolution undermined “the status of Sri Lanka as a sovereign and independent State.”

Savitri Goonesekere and Ahilan Kadirgamar, signatories of the statement, pointed out, “We need to remind ourselves that Sri Lanka has, from the time of independence, voluntarily become a party to international human rights treaties and global policy documents.”