Sri Lanka’s government has confirmed that a United Nations (UN) team will visit the country next month to evaluate post-war reconciliation but insisted that their feedback would not be considered, an official said here on Thursday. Cabinet spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella strongly responded to previous media reports that the UN team would provide expertise on reconciliation efforts made by the government.
He insisted that the team was coming on a government invitation but that they would only be observers and not act as advisors.
“We have invited any interested party to come to Sri Lanka and see for themselves the progress that has been made over the past three years. This latest visit is simply part of that process and is not a contradiction to the government’s previous stance,” he said.
Rambukwella on previous occasions had voiced the government standpoint that no foreign teams would be allowed into the country to conduct evaluations as that is in contravention of Sri Lanka’s sovereign rights.
It was earlier reported that experts from the UN Human Rights Council will arrive to “offer advice and technical assistance” to the Sri Lankan government towards implementing the human rights related resolution on Sri Lanka that was passed in March at the council.
Aug. 9 (Xinhua)