Govt expresses concerns to UNICEF
The Foreign Ministry summoned the Country Representative of the
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Colombo on Thursday and
expressed serious concern on the participation of several members of its
staff, including international staff, at a recent public demonstration
in Colombo.
It was pointed out that this was in violation of the mandate of the
UNICEF and was beyond the scope of its legitimate functions.
The Country Representative was requested to take appropriate action
against the staff members who participated in the demonstration
including the withdrawal of the concerned international staff and the
termination of local staff, the Foreign Ministry said.
The UNICEF Country Representative acknowledged the participation of
some of its staff and assured that it would not be repeated in the
future.
He added that an inquiry was being carried out by the Department of
Human Resources of the United Nations and undertook to keep the Foreign
Ministry informed of developments.
Earlier this week, UNICEF issued a press release on the safety and
security of its work and its staff in Sri lanka in the light of recent
accusations levelled against the Organisation. UNICEF security concerns
have been conveyed to respective authorities to take necessary measures.
As a confidence building measure, the UNICEF Representative informed
that although there is no evidence of any illegal transactions that had
taken place between the UNICEF and the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization
(TRO), the UN Headquarters would carry out a full audit in a transparent
manner with regard to the alleged involvement of UNICEF in TRO projects.
The Representative informed that the outcome of the audit will be
shared with the Government.
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