Conference on Disarmament: Plenary meeting – Tuesday, 30 January 2024
Statement by Sri Lanka
Mr. President
On behalf of the Sri Lanka delegation, it is my pleasure to congratulate Ambassador Ray of India on assuming the first presidency of the Conference on Disarmament for the 2024 session.
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.