The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed in 1982, is indeed one of the greatest achievements of this Organization and may be considered to have brought about revolutionary changes in this branch of the law during the past three decades. It represents perhaps a momentous developmen…
I would like to thank Ambassador Kéba Birane Cissé, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for his statement introducing the report of the Committee.
Sri Lanka has consistently viewed the question of Palestine as the core of the Arab-Israeli c…
While heeding calls for brevity I cannot neglect to express my delegation’s thanks to His Excellency Mr. Amara Essy of Côte d’Ivoire for his guidance of the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matter…
Allow me first to refer to the late Mr. Kenneth Dadzie, whose death last night in London we deeply mourn. I wish to say that Mr. Dadzie was a good friend to Sri Lanka. He worked with us and our officials over many decades of activity in international forums. I knew him myself personally very well, a…
On behalf of the delegation of Sri Lanka, I would like to express our appreciation for the thoroughness with which the Secretary-General has prepared his report on the work of the Organization. I am pleased to express our sense of satisfaction with the account of the work of the United Nations as de…
Let me at the outset extend to Mr. Freitas do Amaral of Portugal the sincere good wishes of the Government and people of Sri Lanka on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at this its historic fiftieth session. We are privileged to have him guide its deliberations. My delegation off…
Since the signing, almost 12 years ago to the day, of the Convention on the Law of the Sea at Montego Bay, Jamaica, the international community has ventured far. A comprehensive legal regime to govern rationally the use and management of the oceans has now come into effect. Fundamental to the comple…
At the outset I should like to thank Ambassador Cissé, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for his introductory comments on the work of the Committee. The Committee continues to be a vital rallying point, both within the United Nations and o…
I should like to thank the Secretary-General for his well-considered report on “An Agenda for Development”, which contains a number of important and constructive proposals for our consideration. The Secretary-General has placed before us a document that reflects the lively discussions held during th…
My delegation has listened with considerable interest to the introductory remarks of the President of the Security Council, Sir David Hannay, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom. His introduction of the report of the Security Council before the General Assembly follows a welcome precedent…
Sri Lanka’s association with the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee (AALCC) dates back to its formative years in the mid-1950s. Sri Lanka was privileged to host the Committee’s third session, which was held in 1960 — 34 years ago. Thereafter, two annual sessions of the Committee — those of 1…
Sri Lanka was one of the countries that in 1979 called for the inclusion of this item in the agenda of the thirty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
During the forty-eighth session, the Open-ended Working Group set up to discuss the question of equitable
The increase in the mem…
First, let me offer you, on behalf of the Government and people of Sri Lanka, warm congratulations to the President on his election to the
Sri Lanka would also wish to express its gratitude to Ambassador Samuel Insanally of Guyana for his exceptionally creative conduct of the work of the crucial fo…
I am pleased to announce that Sri Lanka has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We consider the entry into force of the Convention on 16 November 1994 as an event of historic global significance.
First, the Convention has now codified complex issues relating to shipping an…
Today the United Nations celebrates one of its greatest triumphs. We welcome a united, non-racial and democratic South Africa to its rightful place as a full Member of this Organization. The
The struggle against apartheid has been a universal one, bringing together the entire membership of the Unit…
At the outset, let me thank Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, Chairman of the Special Committee against Apartheid, for his statement introducing the Committee’s report (A/48/22). Over the years, the Special Committee, as the United Nations body entrusted with the monitoring of developments in South Africa…
The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on 10 December 1982 marked one of the most important events in the history of the United Nations. It was the product of the collective endeavour of the international community. Furthermore, the Convention symbolized the interdepende…
The thirteenth of September 1993 marked the culmination of one phase in the peace negotiations between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), representing the Palestinian people. Thus the peace process initiated at the Middle East peace Conference, convened in Madr…
General Assembly resolution 47/62 of 11 December 1992 requested the Secretary-General to invite the Member States to submit written comments on a possible review of the membership of the Security Council. Their views are before us in documents A/48/264 and Add.1, Add.2 and Add.2/Corr.1, Add.3 and Ad…
The delegation of Sri Lanka welcomes the convening of these high-level plenary meetings on international drug control to examine the status of international cooperation against drug abuse and drug trafficking. The according of special importance to the
Moreover, new and alarming dimensions of drug …
