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UN Rights chief türk to visit Sri Lanka this month

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The United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk will visit
Sri Lanka this month or early July, a Foreign Ministry source confirmed. No dates have been finalised for the visit, though the government has agreed to the visit by Mr. Turk.

It’ll be the first time in nine years that a UN Human Rights Commissioner will be visiting Sri Lanka, the last being Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein in February 2016 during Maithripala Sirisena’s presidencyMr. Turk, an Austrian national who took up his duties in October 2022, will visit at a time the government grapples with how it will address human rights concerns raised by the international

community.

In his report to the UN body in August last year, just ahead of
Sri Lanka’s presidential and parliamentary elections, Mr. Turk said the newly elected government should recommit to addressing the root causes of conflict and undertake fundamental constitutional and institutional reforms to address the accountability gap and work towards reconciliation.

These include the immediate moratorium on the Prevention of Terrorism Act and assurances that any replacement legislation is consistent with international human rights law, repeals or amends existing laws or proposed laws that unduly restrict the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, association, and peaceful assembly, including the Online Safety Act and the ICCPR Act.

Mr. Turk’s predecessor Michelle Bachelet requested a visit to
Sri Lanka, but the matter was put under consideration, and the visit did not materialise.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) set up the Sri Lanka accountability project, an external evidence-gathering mechanism within the OHCHR, during Ms Bachelet’s period in office, a move strongly opposed by the government.

The OHCHR says that as of July 5, 2024, the repository established within the framework of the OHCHR project comprises 96,215 items and contains information from more than 470 different sources (more than 220 witnesses and 250 organisations), including international and multilateral organisations.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, who addressed the high-level segment of the UNHRC in March this year, rejected the OHCHR Sri Lanka project and outlined government plans for a credible and sound domestic process to address accountability issues in the country.

“We will ensure that the domestic mechanisms and processes established to address challenges emanating from the conflict will continue their work in an independent and credible manner within the constitutional framework,” the minister told the UNHRC.

Despite a visit by the Human Rights Commissioner, the government will remain opposed to any international legal options to advance accountability in Sri Lanka and maintain that there are adequate domestic mechanisms to address accountability issues.

(sundaytimes.lk)

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Israel agrees to ceasefire proposal

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The Israeli government has said it agreed to the ceasefire proposal after “achieving the objectives” of its attacks on Iran.
According to the statement, Israel has removed Iran’s “dual immediate existential threat” from nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

It also says Israel has “inflicted severe damage on the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of central Iranian government targets”.

The statement goes on to say that Israeli forces, in the last day, have “severely struck government targets in the heart of Tehran, eliminating hundreds of Basij operatives” – a militia the Iranian government often uses to suppress protests – and “eliminating another senior nuclear scientist”.

“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” the statement adds.

Earlier, Iran state TV news channel IRINN says a ceasefire has been “imposed” on Israel following the “successful” Iranian attack on the US base in Qatar.

State TV said in a statement that Trump “begged” for a ceasefire following Iran’s attack. The statement was read aloud by the presenter.

The statement also hailed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Army and praised the “resistance” of Iranians.

The statement also called Iran’s attack on the US base in Qatar as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “successful” response to the US attacking three Iranian nuclear sites, while Qatar said all missiles were intercepted.

(Excerpts : BBC News)

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3 including Consultant neurosurgeon, further remanded

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The Colombo Magistrate’s Court today (June 24) rejected the bail applications of 03 suspects, including Dr. Maheshi Wijeratne – a consultant neurosurgeon attached to the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital, who were who were arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

Accordingly, Colombo Chief Magistrate – Thanuja Lakmali ordered that the suspects be further remanded until July 08.

The three suspects were arrested on June 17 in connection with the alleged sale of medicines at higher prices through a third party.

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Colombo Central Bus Stand to be upgraded

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In line with the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme, the government plans to upgrade the Colombo Central Bus Stand within the next year.

In line with the same initiative, 50 major bus stands nationwide are scheduled for renovation, with assistance from the Sri Lanka Air Force.  

The renovation of the Colombo Central Bus Stand will include the refurbishment of key facilities such as the canteen, rest area, ticket counters, administrative unit, operations room and driver quarters.

Established in 1964, the Colombo Central Bus Stand spans 1.42 hectares and currently handles between 1,500 to 2,000 buses daily.

These details were revealed during a discussion held yesterday (June 23) at the Presidential Secretariat on the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Sampath Thuyacontha, Secretary of Defence, Senior Officers of the Sri Lanka Air Force and other government officials.

(President’s Media Division)

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