UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in town today

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein will undertake a four-day official visit to Sri Lanka starting today.

The High Commissioner will arrive this morning and depart on 10 February, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

During the visit, he will call on President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Leader of Opposition R. Sampanthan and have meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera and several other ministers as well as senior Government officials, civil society representatives, the tri-service chiefs, members of the diplomatic community in Colombo and the National Human Rights Commission.

On 7 and 8 February, the High Commissioner will visit Jaffna and Trincomalee where he will meet with the Governors and Chief Ministers of the Northern and Eastern Provinces respectively. He will also meet civil society representatives, victims of alleged human rights violations and the displaced.

The High Commissioner will meet with religious leaders in different locations.

Substantive discussions during the visit will include measures to strengthen, promote and protect human rights, as well as steps being taken to implement the provisions of Resolution 30/1 titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ which was adopted by the Human Rights Council on 1 October with the co-sponsorship of Sri Lanka.