Sri Lanka seeks vote after rejecting US resolution

The Sri Lankan government decided to reject the final draft of a U.S. resolution submitted at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and seek a vote among members, the External Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday. In letters addressed to foreign ministers of UNHRC member countries, External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said Sri Lanka believes that drawing disproportionate attention to Sri Lanka's situation and introducing resolution that seeks to discredit, single out the country are unhelpful and counterproductive to Sri Lanka's current reconciliation process. The minister noted that the beneficiaries of such action would be none other than the divisive forces that seek to destabilize the hard won peace in the country. Moreover, he said the precedent created by intrusive, biased and politicized actions such as the U.S. sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka would pose danger for all nations. "Just as the government of Sri Lanka did not recognize the last HRC resolution, it rejects the new resolution. Sri Lanka seeks the understanding and the support of HRC member states at the vote on this resolution," the minister said in his letter. The United States on Monday tabled the final version of the resolution at the 22nd session of the UNHRC in Geneva, with co- sponsors including Austria, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway and Britain. In a toned down document as compared to the previous drafts, the resolution, among other points, requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to present an oral update on the progress in Sri Lanka at the 24th session of the Council.