In the run-up to the forthcoming Sessions of the Human Rights Council, the government of Sri Lanka has adopted a National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights.
Plantations Minister and President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s special envoy to the UN HRC sessions Mahinda Samarasinghe briefed the Cabinet regarding the National Action Plan.
The following is a statement issued by the government yesterday: ” The Cabinet of Ministers on behalf of the
Government of Sri Lanka has officially adopted a National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights. The development of a National Action Plan was a voluntary pledge made during Sri Lanka’s Universal Periodic Review in May 2008. Commencing in 2008, the Action Plan was developed through a participatory process involving both Government and Civil Society input. The three main objectives of the Action Plan are the achievement of genuine and substantive improvements in the protection and promotion of human rights; promotion of greater awareness of human rights, both among the general public and in specific sectors; and the promotion of coordination of human rights activity among diverse stakeholders. Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Minister of Plantation Industries and the Special Envoy of the President on Human Rights submitted the Plan to the Cabinet for approval and formal adoption. The Action Plan has been adopted with amendments made by the Cabinet of Ministers.
The Government of Sri Lanka will begin implementing the 5-year Action Plan in 2011. Reports on progress will be made public and the UN Human Rights Council will also be apprised of progress periodically. A Cabinet subcommittee will be appointed to monitor the implementation of the Plan
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