The world is experiencing the unabated spread of terrorism. The emergence of non-State actors threatening the peace and security of nations and of the world at large continues to pose a complex challenge. In meeting that challenge, all nations have chosen the path of multilateralism. Sri Lanka, a co…
It is with deep sorrow that my country learned of the passing away of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, who eloquently expressed loving kindness, compassion and sympathy to the world as a messenger of peace. We recall with reverence the visit of the late Holy Father to Sri Lanka in 1995. I wish to joi…
The fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly has been resumed to consider agenda item 39 in the wake of the deadly tsunami that struck several countries in the Indian Ocean region.
Being far away from the earthquake zone, Sri Lanka had little or no reason to worry about such natural disasters, w…
This year, the General Assembly is considering the question of Palestine at a momentous time, following the untimely passing of President Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian people. President Arafat’s sudden demise has left a void in the political canvass of Palestine that will be difficult to fil…
At the special session of the General Assembly on children, held from 8 to 10 May 2000, delegations from 190 countries reaffirmed the international community’s belief that children are the bearers of our future and our most valuable asset, when they adopted the Declaration and Plan of Action entitle…
Let me congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of this important session of the General Assembly, and extend to you the warm best wishes of the Government of Sri Lanka for a successful stewardship of this meeting.
At the outset I wish to state that Sri Lanka and the Government of Her E…
Over the years, the Open-ended Working Group has considered various issues involving the reform of the Security Council. Among those issues are size, the question of geographical representation, criteria for membership, the relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council, accounta…
Allow me to extend my congratulations to the President on his unanimous and well-deserved election as President of the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly. This is a difficult period for any person to preside over the General Assembly, and I wish him every success. I also wish to thank Mr. …
I am honoured to address, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, this high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS. Our main focus at this meeting is to review and debate the progress made in the implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, adopted by the twenty-…
Yesterday, we participated in an impressive commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the opening for signature of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
We had the privilege of listening to several eloquent and inspiring statements by colleagues, on progress in the regulation of …
I would like to convey through you, Sir, the thanks of my delegation to Ambassador Papa Louis Fall of Senegal, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, for his introductory statement.
We acknowledge the work done by the Committee in its efforts …
The Sri Lanka delegation is grateful to the Secretary-General for introducing his annual report on the work of the Organization and also for his first annual report on the follow-up to the Millennium Summit, which focuses on commitments made in the Millennium Declaration.
The two reports, taken tog…
Let me begin by conveying, on behalf of the Sri Lanka delegation, our sincere felicitations to Mr. Jan Kavan on his election as President of this fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly and our assurances of our fullest cooperation.
I would also like to express appreciation for the exemplary …
I listened with great care to the galaxy of speakers this morning, and what has to be said about information and communication technologies (ICT) has been said. What we have to do now is to take stock of how to proceed. In that regard, Mr. President, I was touched by a number of paragraphs of your s…
Sri Lanka has continuously and consistently extended its firm and unqualified support to the people of Palestine.
Yesterday, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestine People, the President of Sri Lanka, Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, reaffirmed such support …
Every speaker from this podium during the special debate on terrorism, the debate on dialogue among civilizations and our current general debate has said, suggested or implied that 11 September has changed the world irrevocably. Indeed it has. A democracy is an open society. Movement is free. Speech…
On behalf of Sri Lanka, I should like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session. You are the Minister for Foreign Affairs of an Asian country, the Republic of Korea, with which Sri Lanka has long had the very best of relations. You hav…
I have the honour on behalf of the Asian Group to speak this morning in the Assembly’s tribute to the life and memory of Ambassador Ismat Kittani. Although I had the pleasure of meeting Ambassador Kittani on a few occasions, I
would not say that I knew him well. But in preparing my remarks this mor…
Today is for all of us a most moving and profound occasion. On behalf of all the members of the Asian Group, I have the great honour to convey to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, of whom we are all so deeply proud, and to the United Nations and its Member States, the most profound congratulati…
The Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka regrets that he is unable, because of other pressing commitments, to be here to address the General Assembly on the subject of terrorism. He has requested me to read to the Assembly on his behalf the statement he would have made. I have now the honour to do so. It r…
