Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC),
Twenty-First Meeting of State Parties, 20-24 November 2023
Statement by Sri Lanka – Agenda item 10 a – Assisting the Victims
Delivered by Mr. Rajitha Ambalampitiya, Head of Operations and Senior Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) officer of the National Mine Action Center (NMAC) of Sri Lanka on 21 November 2023
Thank you Mr. President,
First of all, allow me to express the Government of Sri Lanka’s sincere gratitude to the ISU of the Convention and GICHD for your continuous support to Sri Lanka’s mine action programme and guidance provided for victim assistance.
Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC),
Twenty-First Meeting of State Parties, 20-24 November 2023
Statement by Sri Lanka– General Exchange of Views
Delivered by Mr. Rajitha Ambalampitiya, Head of Operations and Senior Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) officer of the National Mine Action Center (NMAC) of Sri Lanka on 20 November 2023
Thank you Mr. President,
First of all, allow me to express the Government of Sri Lanka’s sincere gratitude to the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) of the Convention and Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) for your continuous support to Sri Lanka’s mine action programme.
We are pleased to inform you that Sri Lanka’s mine action programme has engaged in several important activities, in a collaborative manner with all international and national partners.
2023 Meeting of High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW)
Statement by Sri Lanka, 16 November 2023
Mr. President,
We take this opportunity to congratulate you on the assumption of the Presidency of the 2023 Meeting of High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. We also thank the ISU of CCW for facilitating the meeting and the process of implementation of the Convention.
We are confident that this meeting of High Contracting Parties will lead to constructive discussions and substantive outcome will further strengthen the universal implementation and adherence to the Convention by all parties to end devastative use of arms and their destructive impact, in order to ensure the wellbeing of entire human kind.
Sri Lanka continues to express its serious concerns at the unprecedented loss of life and suffering of the people of Palestine causing a grave humanitarian situation due to the escalation of violence and military action in Gaza. We condemn the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas affecting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Sri Lanka also condemns terrorism in all its forms, including by all those who resort to violence to achieve their goals whether political or otherwise.
Sri Lanka supports the urgent call of the UN Secretary General and UNGA for an immediate ceasefire and for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to provide unimpeded access for humanitarian aid including supplies of food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity as well as access to aid workers into the besieged areas.
At this critical juncture where the escalation of violent acts is witnessed in many parts of the world, we believe and recognize the CCW framework as an important component of multilateral disarmament, to develop international law to ‘ban or restrict the use of specific types of weapons that are considered to cause unnecessary or unjustifiable suffering to combatants or to affect civilians indiscriminately in armed conflicts of international and non-international nature’. Therefore, we believe that a vital responsibility lies in the hands of High Contracting Parties to assess the emerging sophisticated High-Tec warfare technologies and bring international community to a consensually agreed mechanism to address the related issues.
Sri Lanka was elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the term 2023-2027, during the 42nd General Conference of the inter-governmental organization, on 15 November 2023 in Paris.
Sri Lanka obtained 144 votes out of 188 member states voting at the said election, co-securing the 3rd highest vote count from the region, with Bangladesh. The member states of the UNESCO elected 6 members, out of 9 candidates from the Asia-Pacific Region, to the UNESCO Executive Board. The other countries who were elected from the region are Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Republic of Korea and Australia. Sri Lanka last served on the Executive Board from 2015 to 2019.
The UNESCO contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information. It also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Sri Lanka’s membership in UNESCO in 1949, soon after its independence, is demonstrative of the country’s firm commitment to the values and principles upheld by UNESCO to promote collaboration among nations through education, science and culture, in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms of the peoples of the world.
Since the inception, Sri Lanka has played a significant role and made proactive contribution towards the furtherance of the mandate of the UNESCO. Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO is the government arm for implementing the UNESCO Agenda in Sri Lanka, under the guidance of the Ministry of Education.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Paris and the Ministry of Education (National focal point) is pleased to have spearheaded the successful effort to ensure Sri Lanka’s election to UNESCO Executive Board.
It is notable that in the past months, Sri Lanka has been successful in consecutively being elected to 3 UN bodies/committees: Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW), and the UNESCO Executive Board.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
16 November 2023
Ministry of Environment organized side event on 'Hepatoprotective activity of Mercury containing Lokanatharasa with special reference to Hepatocellular carcinoma' was held during the Fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP-5) on 2 Nov 2023 in Geneva. Prof. Sujeewa Harapathdeniya of Institute of Indigenous Medicine joining virtually made a presentation based on research conducted in SriLanka with United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Swiss government assistance.
DIGIECON 2030 - ‘Digital Economy 2030’, is organized by the Government of Sri Lanka and coordinated by the Ministry of Technology as the leading organization for digitalization with the participation and patronage of His Excellency, the President Ranil Wickremesinghe, aiming to accelerate Sri Lanka's economy towards an inclusive digital economy by leveraging advanced technology-based solutions. More information: https://digiecon2030.lk/
- President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Address at the UNGA: Sri Lanka’s Journey to Rebuild Trust and Global Solidarity
- Address by HE Ranil Wickremesinghe – President of Sri Lanka at the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the G77 & China on Current Development Challenges: The Role of Science, Technology and Innovation -on 15 September 2023 in Havana, Cuba
- Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions 11 – 14 September 2023