Addressing the WHO Metal Health Forum held in Geneva on 14 October 2019, Sri Lanka updated the global healthcare community, which comprised policy experts and representatives of Member States and international organisations, on progress achieved in advancing mental health, providing healthcare support and improving the working environment that could foster good health and wellbeing among the Sri Lankan population.
The intervention made by Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka in Geneva at the Forum dealt with three main points namely, the need for mental healthcare and delivery of assistance to be holistic; the importance of an inclusive approach that ensured availability of mental healthcare coverage throughout the entire cycle of vulnerability; and the sustainment of a supportive environment that assured security, empathy and care for at-risk individuals.
Speaking at the General Debate of the 70th session of the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka, outlined measures taken by Sri Lanka to address the issue of statelessness. The meeting, chaired by Ambassador Boudjemâa Delmi of Algeria, takes place from 7-11 October 2019, with the participation of Mr. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Full Statement by Ambassador Azeez
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
09th October 2019
Speaking at the 2019 Social Forum of the Human Rights Council on 1st October 2019, in Geneva, the delegation of Sri Lanka highlighted the importance of education, a fundamental human right that lies at the core of the 2030 Development Agenda, in the promotion and protection of human rights of children and youth and the transformative power it entails.
At the multi stakeholder meeting, which brought together Government representatives, intergovernmental organizations, civil society and the academia, Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva noted that all children and youth have an equal right to an education in a safe and secure setting irrespective of their gender, family income levels, religion, ethnicity, or geographical location and that a hate-free atmosphere that inculcates in children and youth the value of inclusivity and diversity is a crucial element in education that helps build lasting peace and contributes to the strengthening of the social fabric.
Empowering children and youth through access to quality education and ensuring that no child is left behind, is key to achieving sustainable development goals, stressed Ambassador Azeez. He shared Sri Lanka’s experiences in providing education to all and its commitment to promote and protect the right to education for all its citizens as enshrined in Sri Lanka’s laws and regulations.
He added that in order to ensure the special education needs of children with disabilities, 714 schools provide special education through designated units in government schools for disabled children and a special scheme of university admissions for persons with disabilities also exist.
“Such measures have resulted in remarkable social indicators in Sri Lanka in recent years, such as high enrolment rates in education, reduction of school drop-outs and universal primary education reaching 99.7% in 2014” Ambassador Azeez re-iterated.
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
01 October 2019
Statement delivered by the Delegation of Sri Lanka at the Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances during the 42nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Statement English , Sinhala, Tamil
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
12 September 2019
The Delegation of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva delivered a Statement during the General Debate under Agenda Item 2 at the 42nd Session of the Human Rights Council.
The Statement, inter alia, highlighted Sri Lanka’s position on the appointment of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army expressed on 20th August 2019.
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN
Geneva
11 September 2019
The 9th Meeting of States Parties (MSP) to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) concluded its deliberations in Geneva on 4 September 2019 under the Presidency of Sri Lanka. States parties, signatories, observer states and international and civil society organizations participated in the three-day meeting which convened its first session on 2 September 2019.
The MSP, chaired by Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, marked the culmination of a year-long process of oversight and review of the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and of guidance and advocacy for the universalization of the Convention and its norms, and the prohibition of use, production, stockpile and transfer of cluster munitions. Sri Lanka’s election to the Presidency of the 9th MSP had been facilitated by the wide recognition among the international community, of its strengthened commitment to humanitarian disarmament, as manifested by its accession to the CCM and the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
"Achieving a world free of cluster munitions depends on the strengthening of norms that are universally accepted and implemented", emphasizes Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, in his capacity as the President of the 9th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). His statement has been released on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of entry into force of the CCM on 1 August 2019.
Web Article : http://www.clusterconvention.org/2019/07/31/9th-anniversary-of-the-conventions-entry-into-force/
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
7th August 2019