Sri Lanka rejects misleading US statement claiming collaboration with government to bring resolution

Sri Lanka has strongly voiced objection to a statement sent to the missions in Geneva purportedly by the United States to garner support for a resolution backed by the US and Western countries against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Tamara Kunanayakam has issued a statement rejecting the "misleading and unethical communication" allegedly sent by the US.
According to the Kunanayakam's statement, an e-mail, dated 21st February claiming to have originated from the US Mission to the UN and other International Organisations in Geneva, has been sent to the Member States of the UN Human Rights Council and Diplomatic Missions in Geneva. The letter, which has been signed by one Miriam Shahrzard Schive, has indicated that the US and the Sri Lankan government were in collaboration of bringing the resolution to the UNHRC and sought the support of the member states. The letter has expressed hope that the Sri Lankan Government will work with the US on this Resolution. "It obliquely canvasses the position of a co-sponsorship of a Resolution and conveys a false impression that Sri Lanka is working with the United States on this Resolution," Ambassador Kunanayakam's statement pointed out. The Ambassador in her statement has emphasized that at no time has the Government or its Mission in Geneva, ever worked with representatives of the United States on any Resolution on whatsoever. Asserting that Sri Lanka has started on the implementation of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), the Ambassador has pointed out that it is counterproductive to bring a resolution against Sri Lanka at this time. "We have consistently maintained that it is unnecessary, unhelpful and counterproductive to bring any resolution concerning this matter barely two months after the publication of the LLRC Report and more particularly in the context of implementation of its recommendations," the statement said. The Ambassador has observed that Sri Lanka has received widespread support endorsing the principle that the domestic mechanism must be given enough time and space to achieve its objectives. "Sri Lanka's position is that given the considerable progress that has been achieved in the implementation of the recommendations of the domestic mechanism from the release of the Report to date and the path to further progress, any resolution of whatsoever nature is most unhelpful and highly unwarranted," the Ambassador noted.