Lankan Ranger
ELITE MEMBER
INDIA BACKS SRI LANKA ON CHOGM SUMMIT
Amid protests by Canada against the Commonwealth Summit to be held in Sri Lanka next year, India has come to the rescue of Sri Lanka strongly saying it is not a subject to be reopened at the moment, officials said yesterday.
India also expressed reservations about the proposal to appoint a commissioner to monitor the Human Rights and Rule of Law in the member states of the Commonwealth Association.
Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he would not attend Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka, if there was no progress on the human rights situation in the country. He also emphasised that Canada stood for advances in political reconciliation, democratic values and accountability in Sri Lanka and supported actions by the United Nations Secretary General’s representative in this regard.
However, India’s Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told a news conference on Tuesday that the decision was taken in 2009 for the next two CHOGM Summits.
“I think that matter has been decided already and it is not a subject which needs to be reopened,” he said.
Responding to a question about concerns that India does not support the creation of a Human Rights and Rule of Law Monitor by the Commonwealth, Mr. Mathai said India had reservations about the proposal for a Commissioner for Democracy, Rule of Law and Human Rights.
“The responsibilities spelt out in this would seem to undermine the role of both the Secretary-general and the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group itself which is actually dealing with precisely those issues. Secondly, it seems to us that this particular proposal is like a duplication of what the UN is already doing through its Rapporteurs. And at a time when the organization is facing budgetary difficulties whether it should really go that direction, is not quite clear.
In fact, I raised the specific issue as to where the money was going to come from, and it was mentioned that it might involve reallocation of some of the resources of the Secretariat as of now. And when you consider that the current allocation and budget of the Commonwealth Secretariat has been decided after considerable discussion and approval by the Heads, reallocation at this stage does not seem appropriate.
It seems to us that the real focus of the Commonwealth should be once again on the development challenges which are uppermost in the minds of the vast majority of the members. So, while we support the important values of democracy, rule of law and human rights, we believe the Commonwealth should focus on strengthening the existing institutions rather than trying to create new ones,” he said.
Daily Mirror E-Paper
Amid protests by Canada against the Commonwealth Summit to be held in Sri Lanka next year, India has come to the rescue of Sri Lanka strongly saying it is not a subject to be reopened at the moment, officials said yesterday.
India also expressed reservations about the proposal to appoint a commissioner to monitor the Human Rights and Rule of Law in the member states of the Commonwealth Association.
Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he would not attend Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka, if there was no progress on the human rights situation in the country. He also emphasised that Canada stood for advances in political reconciliation, democratic values and accountability in Sri Lanka and supported actions by the United Nations Secretary General’s representative in this regard.
However, India’s Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told a news conference on Tuesday that the decision was taken in 2009 for the next two CHOGM Summits.
“I think that matter has been decided already and it is not a subject which needs to be reopened,” he said.
Responding to a question about concerns that India does not support the creation of a Human Rights and Rule of Law Monitor by the Commonwealth, Mr. Mathai said India had reservations about the proposal for a Commissioner for Democracy, Rule of Law and Human Rights.
“The responsibilities spelt out in this would seem to undermine the role of both the Secretary-general and the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group itself which is actually dealing with precisely those issues. Secondly, it seems to us that this particular proposal is like a duplication of what the UN is already doing through its Rapporteurs. And at a time when the organization is facing budgetary difficulties whether it should really go that direction, is not quite clear.
In fact, I raised the specific issue as to where the money was going to come from, and it was mentioned that it might involve reallocation of some of the resources of the Secretariat as of now. And when you consider that the current allocation and budget of the Commonwealth Secretariat has been decided after considerable discussion and approval by the Heads, reallocation at this stage does not seem appropriate.
It seems to us that the real focus of the Commonwealth should be once again on the development challenges which are uppermost in the minds of the vast majority of the members. So, while we support the important values of democracy, rule of law and human rights, we believe the Commonwealth should focus on strengthening the existing institutions rather than trying to create new ones,” he said.
Daily Mirror E-Paper