Statement by Sri Lanka at the 57th session of the
UNHCR Executive Committee – 3 October 2006
Mr Chairman, dear Asian Colleague,
The delegation of Sri Lanka congratulates you on your well deserved election to chair this 57thsession of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme and our good wishes also to the Bureau. We wish Deputy High Commissioner Wendy Chamberlin all the best for future success and thank her for her endeavours at UNHCR.
Madam President,
On behalf of the observer delegation of Sri Lanka, I would like to congratulate you on your election as President of this meeting. The delegation of Sri Lanka would like to take the floor under this agenda item to provide a brief account of its position with regard to the Ottawa Convention as well as the on-going humanitarian de-mining activities in the country.
Mr. President,
I would like to thank High Commissioner Arbour for her update on the current global human rights situation. We had hoped however that OHCHR would have engaged our Mission earlier to convey your concerns on Sri Lanka. We have always been available for fostering a dialogue of cooperation and mutual respect.
Mr. Chairman
Distinguished delegates and
representatives of UN and International Organizations
I am in Switzerland to make a presentation at the Conference on International Disaster Reduction which is being held in Davos. Having received an invitation from UNDP, I am also pleased on this same occasion to be able to make a statement at today’s launch of the Common Humanitarian Action Plan for Sri Lanka and to present some perspectives from the Government of Sri Lanka.
Mr. President,
Since this is the first time my delegation is taking the floor under your Presidency, may I extend our sincere felicitations and commend the serious manner in which your Presidency has been prepared, with wide consultations and also for your initiative of organising the seminar by UNIDIR on negative security assurances, an important topic which continues to engage our attention. You quite rightly reminded us in your opening statement that the issue of negative security assurances has figured from earliest times on the agenda of the Committee on Disarmament since its creation in 1979 and subsequently in the renamed Conference on Disarmament due to their continued significance as a confidence building measure. We also appreciate the impressive compilation of the documents on NSA’s put together by the Secretariat and distributed in the Conference.
- Address by Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights of Sri Lanka at the First Session of the Human Rights Council – Geneva - 19 June 2006
- Statement made by Sri Lanka, Coordinator of the Asian Group at the Opening Plenary of the Second Formal Meeting of the Mid-Term Review (MTR)Geneva, 12 June 2006. (Dr. Dayaratna de Silva, Minister)
- STATEMENT DELIVERED BY H.E. MRS SARALA FERNANDO, AMBASSADOR/PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SRI LANKA AT THE PLENARY OF THE CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT ON 8 JUNE, 2006