Team to update her on overall development :

Sri Lankan delegation to meet Navaneetham Pillay

by Manjula Fernando

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Special envoy on Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe and the Sri Lankan delegation will meet the UN’s High Commissioner Navaneetham Pillay on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council’s 22nd regular sessions scheduled to begin next week.

Authoritative sources said Ms Pillay had made a request to meet the Sri Lankan delegation and the team will update her on the overall progress and the most recent developments on the resettlement, reconciliation and development fronts.

A Ministry spokesperson on Friday confirmed that Minister Samarasinghe was appointed by President Rajapaksa on Wednesday to lead the Sri Lankan delegation to Geneva.

He will be accompanied by two officials from the External Affairs Ministry and six officials of the Attorney General’s Department.

The AG’s Department team comprises five Deputy Solicitor Generals and a Senior State Counsel.

A Foreign Ministry source said it was initially decided to send an official delegation to Geneva but taking into consideration the 80-odd ministers participating in the high level segment of the HRC sessions this year and the special privilege of an expanded time slot given for a Minister to address the Council, the decision may have been reviewed by the Government. Sri Lanka’s head of mission in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha was in Sri Lanka during the past few days for consultations.

The Minister will place on record the progress Sri Lanka has made since March last year including the implementation of the LLRC Action Plan, Human Rights Action Plan and the developments that had taken place in the North and the East after the end of terrorism, in a speech to the Council on Wednesday around 4.20 pm local time. (11.50am Geneva time).

The UN Human Rights Council regular sessions will proceed from February 25 to March 22. Sri Lanka is prepared to defend a US sponsored procedural resolution and a report prepared by the office of the HC which also speaks of lack of progress in the country’s HR commitment.