The United Nations yesterday said it was adapting and refocusing its work in Sri Lanka with evolving global and national
development priorities.
According to UN Resident Co-ordinator and Development Programme Representative Una McCauley, this year the UN has scaled up its interventions to support the Sri Lankan government’s peacebuilding, reconciliation
and governance agendas.
The government plans to tackle the impacts of climate change, promote universal norms and values, localise the Sustainable Development Goals and engage young people to be potential drivers of change in society.
She was speaking at a function held at the UN compound in Colombo to mark UN Day, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We remain committed to working closely with the people of Sri Lanka to achieve the country’s development priorities with the Global Goals firmly in our sight, whilst ensuring that no one is left behind,” she said.
McCauley said that as the process of designing the new Development Framework of the UN in Sri Lanka begins, this is a time to reflect on the need to move away from immediate humanitarian engagements into more long-term developmental and policy support, by finding innovative solutions to create a forward-looking UN.
She said the aim of the UN in Sri Lanka is to work together towards a sustainable country.
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the UN system has been in the forefront in drawing attention to the greatest problems faced by mankind, and helped lift large populations across the world out of poverty, promote democracy, take steps to make the world safer for children, draw communities across the world closer, build strong partnerships and forge
greater ties.
Samaraweera said it was his firm belief that no matter how hard it may seem or how challenging it may be, it is by upholding the values upon which the UN was founded that the world can overcome the problems
that it is faced with.
On Thursday, a UN rights expert said the Sri Lankan government must “clearly demonstrate” its political will and commitment to better protect the Indian Ocean island’s minorities by taking urgent steps to resolve
post-war issues.
A visit by Rita Izsak-Ndiaye, the UN special rapporteur on minority issues, comes amid complaints of rights violations by ethnic minority Tamils and Muslims.
They say the situation in former war zones in Sri Lanka’s north and east has hardly changed, despite the new government’s promises to take action immediately to remedy the problems.
“The government must put in place some urgent, important and concrete measures to clearly demonstrate its political will and commitment to better protect the dignity, identity, equality,” of minorities, Izsak-Ndiaye told reporters.
She called for government efforts to return to its owners land occupied by the military, either charge or release those detained over security matters, and “visible steps” to transfer military powers to civilian authorities, among other measures.
“In all my discussions, demilitarisation, release of prisoners, and issues of land returns frequently and prominently featured,” she said in the capital, Colombo, after wrapping up a 10-day official visit.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in September urged Sri Lanka to do more to redress wrongs committed during the war with Tamil rebels, including restoring the accountability of the judiciary and security services.
Through a UN resolution, Sri Lanka agreed last year to tackle war crimes and make efforts towards reconciliation. The Tamil Tigers were also accused of violating human rights during the conflict.
Sri Lanka’s population of 21mn is predominantly Buddhist, but ethnic Tamils, who are mostly Hindu, make up 18%, and Muslims account for 7%.