Sri Lanka has much to offer world - minister

Continued from last Saturday

Text of the speech delivered by Minister of Plantation Industries and Special Envoy of the President on Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe at the eighth annual Sujata Jayawadena memorial oration titled ‘Human Rights: International Challenges for Sri Lanka’ held at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Colombo on December 2.

Civil society and person to person contact must also be promoted to assist this process. This is neither an easy task nor one that can be achieved overnight. However, it is a task that must be carried out to ensure full reconciliation. We must also counter malicious campaigns such as that launched by Channel-4, pursuant to an agenda based on subjective assessment, that has only served to impede our attempts to move forward.

Foreign governments including those that host Sri Lankan expatriate communities, must be informed of our efforts. We are fortunate to have secured the cooperation of several friendly nations who have stepped forward to aid in reconstruction, demining, restoration of infrastructure and post-armed conflict development. At the level of diplomatic exchanges, open dialogue on Sri Lanka’s achievements and future challenges must focus on issues such as human rights, reconciliation and peace-building in addition to vital economic and other cooperation. These governments must be left in no doubt as to our commitment to recover from the conflict and restore normality. Information flows must be constant and effective and the Ministry of External Affairs will have a critical role to play in this connection.

The next critical dimension to facing external challenges in the sphere of human rights, is an internal transformation in protection and promotion of human rights. To achieve this we must commit to a systemic change in governance based on human rights principles, democracy and participatory values. We in Asia have, due to a combination of historical, cultural and political factors become accustomed to somewhat paternalistic, top-down modes of government, that is sometimes at odds with the highly individualistic notion of human rights.

We must not jettison our cultural values and traditions, but should evolve systems and procedures to suit the modern era and fulfill the genuine expectations of our people. We do not for instance, have to blindly accept every prescriptive remedy that is suggested to us by some international partners, well meaning or otherwise. Such an approach, however, does not detract from the necessity of strengthening our domestic legal and constitutional structures and mechanisms. Giving practical effect to such provisions, would ensure that we do not lay ourselves open to undue criticism and finger-pointing.

The most significant development in the post-armed conflict phase has been the appointment of the LLRC, which has recently concluded its work.

The broad scope of its mandate, its methods of work and the composition of the Commission – drawing on some of the best professionals in the country – give us every expectation that its report will provide a solid basis for reconciliation and the assurance of non-repetition of violence in the future. The world will witness our government’s commitment to genuine peace-building through the measures taken to implement its recommendations and proposals. It is my earnest expectation that follow up to the LLRC’s findings will proceed as soon as possible. Needless to say, my task at the Human Rights Council in March next year will be greatly facilitated, if I am armed with a roadmap for implementation.

This is one certain way that we, as an emerging nation, will be able to argue our case from a position of strength. Improving our domestic record and performance in the guaranteeing of rights and freedoms for our people should be one of the highest priorities. Ultimately, our commitment and obligation is to ensure that Sri Lankans of every ethnicity, linguistic and cultural background and of every religious persuasion are able to live their lives with dignity and self respect. It is when we have achieved this that we can withstand the pressures and external attempts to intervene in our domestic affairs and impinge upon our sovereignty using human rights.

Just as a country that has its economic fundamentals correctly in place is able to withstand some of the shocks and adverse effects of volatility in the global economy and is then enabled to independently charter its course, a stable and healthy human rights regime will enable a country to progress without negative attention. Of course, human rights protection has undeniable benefits in terms of domestic governance as well, with the resulting positive effects for economic development and social tranquility.

It is for this reason that the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa committed in 2008 to a sustained effort to improve the human rights situation in Sri Lanka by the formulation and implementation of a National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP). This is an integral part of the post-conflict transformation that we expect to engender if peace is to be finally secured.

To be continued