UN to review Sri Lanka’s rights record in November

Karu

Sri Lanka’s human rights record will come under review in November during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Burundi, Korea and Bolivia forma a Troika which will review and submit a report on Sri Lanka in November.

 The UPR is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States.
 The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed.

The UPR was created through the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council itself. It is a cooperative process which, by October 2011, has reviewed the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists.

The UPR is one of the key elements of the Council which reminds States of their responsibility to fully respect and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ultimate aim of this mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur. (Colombo Gazette)