OHCHR WILL SEND 6 MISSIONS TO SRI LANKA OF 14 DAYS EACH IN COMING TWO YEARS.

Image: Palais Wilson, OHCHR office in Geneva. ©s.deshapriya.

29/03/2017

Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) in the coming two years will send six missions to Colombo of 14 days each of OHCHR Geneva-based staff with expertise in various thematic areas, including transitional justice and rule of law issues, in order to support the assessment of progress on the implementation of OHCHR’s recommendations and other relevant processes related to reconciliation, accountability and human rights.

These missions will be made under the terms of operative paragraphs 3 and 4 of the resolution A/HRC/34/L.1 adopted by the  the Human Rights Council in its 34th session.

This has been revealed by the statement (dated 20 March 2017) sent to Mr. Goro Onojima, Secretary of the Human Rights Council by the Johannes Huisman, Director Programme Planning and Budget Division, OPPBA.

read the offcial text  of the adopted resolution as a pdf: HRC 34 -1

The relevant sections of the statement follows:

(a)    Request the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant special procedure mandate holders, in consultation with and with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka, to strengthen their advice and technical assistance on the promotion and protection of human rights and truth, justice, reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka; and

(b)    Request the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to assess progress on the implementation of its recommendations and other relevant processes related to reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, and to present a written update to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-seventh session, and a comprehensive report followed by discussion on the implementation of resolution 30/1 at its fortieth session.

3.    In order to implement the requests contained in the draft resolution, the following activities and one-time resources would be required in the biennium 2018-2019:

(a)    Six missions to Colombo of 14 days each of OHCHR Geneva-based staff with expertise in various thematic areas, including transitional justice and rule of law issues, in order to support the assessment of progress on the implementation of OHCHR’s recommendations and other relevant processes related to reconciliation, accountability and human rights;

(b)    Local transportation, security, communications and other miscellaneous expenses during field missions;

(c)    General temporary assistance at the P-4 level for 15 months, to support the assessment of progress on the implementation of OHCHR’s recommendations and other relevant processes related to reconciliation, accountability and human rights; and

(d)    Conference services for the translation and processing of the two reports to the Human Rights Council.

4.    The activities referred to above relate to section 2, General Assembly and Economic and Social Council affairs and conference management, and section 24, Human rights, of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2018-2019.

5.    The adoption of the draft resolution would give rise to total requirements of $362,000 as follows: