Sri Lanka and the UN: The 66-year partnership

With the concept of a “global community” making headway in the 21st century, there weren’t many things in the modern world that were not influenced by globalization. At the forefront of bringing this global community together is the United Nations. Founded in 1945, the United Nations served as the instrument of peace which brought a war-torn world together. Come 2021 we see the United Nations has grown from its humble beginnings reaching all four corners of the globe in a mission to make the world a better place. Sri Lanka and its involvement have been a key part of that mission and the nations have certainly reaped the benefits of the 66-year long partnership.

Sri Lanka’s relationship with the UN predates the nation becoming a part of the UN family. In 1948 the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) started its programs in Sri Lanka spreading critical information about agriculture andnatural resources helping the nation’s agriculture flourish. 1948 also saw Ceylon become a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization. The Sri Lankan National Commission for UNESCO was also established during this time.

Ceylon officially became a member of the UN on December 14th, 1955, and Sir Senerat Gunewardena was the first representative of Ceylon. In 1956, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike became Ceylon’s first prime minister to address the UN General Assembly. Ceylon became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in 1960 and Sir Claude Corea became its first Sri Lankan president. This was the only time in history Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) was appointed to the UNSC. 1960 also saw Ceylon contribute the first set of troops to the United Nations Peace Keeping Force demonstrating Ceylon’s commitment towards world peace. The 6 peacekeepers from Ceylon were deployed to the UN Mission in Congo.

1967 saw former Secretary-General U Thant open Sri Lanka’s UN office during his official visit to the island. Sri Lanka was at the forefront of securing peace as in 1976 at the 26th General Assembly Sri Lanka initiated the move to declare the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace. In 1974 Un Volunteers began activeoperations in Sri Lanka promoting volunteerism across the country. 1974 also saw Hamilton Shirley Amarasinghe appointed as the President of the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea. The rights & responsibilities of nations to theworld’s ocean are the result of the Law of the Sea Convention which was the brainchild of the committee led by Shirley Amarasinghe. In 1976 he was appointed as Sri Lanka’s permanent representative to the United Nations.

In 1978 Sri Lanka was at the forefront of promoting global peace as the first-ever Special session on disarmament was proposed at the UN General Assembly. The proposed special session of disarmament focused on small arms & nuclear

weapons as well as the weaponization of space. The Ancient cities of Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya & Anuradhapura were named as UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1982 which were followed by Old Town Galle & its Fortifications, the Sacred City of Kandy & the Sinharaja forest reserve in 1988. The Golden Temple of Dambulla and the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka were named UNESCO heritage sites in 1991 and 2010 respectively.

In 1987 President Ranasinghe Premadasa proposed the declaration of an International Year of Shelter for the Homeless which was unanimously accepted at the 37th General Assembly session marking 1987 as the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. In 1990 Sri Lanka became a member of the International Organization for Migration. The partnership proved to be instrumental in the evacuation of Sri Lankan migrant workers during the GulfWar.

Sri Lankans have taken center stage in the administration of justice as in 1997 Judge C.G.Weeramantry served as the Vice President of the International Court of Justice and Dr. Rohan Perera chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism.

1999 saw Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage gain international recognition as Vesak was globally recognized as a United Nations Observation day. Following a lull in the civil war that was raging in the country the United Nations Mine Action program was launched in 2002 to clear the mines that littered the battlefields of the country’s eastern and Northern provinces. The United Nation’s aid proved to be instrumental in the humanitarian effort following the devastating Tsunami of 2004. The teams deployed by the UN provided much-needed emergency assistance and facilitated information management in the affected regions.

2005 saw former Secretary-General Kofi Annan visit Sri Lanka and in 2006 Dr. Radhika Coomaraswarmy was appointed as the Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflicts. During this time Sri Lanka played a pivotal role in addressing the issue of Children and Armed Conflicts as it was a recurring issue of the country’s civil war. In 2007 the UN stepped up its humanitarian efforts in the island for those displaced by the Civil war as government forces began their final push to rid the nation of the LTTE. Following the conflict, the UN supported the government’s infrastructuredevelopment in the conflict zones.

With Sri Lanka rising from the ashes of a brutal civil war 2014 saw the nation organize the 15th World Conference on Youth which saw the participation of over 1500 participants aged 18-29. By all accounts, Sri Lanka has maintained a healthy symbiotic relationship with the UN for more than 6 decades. However, that is not to say that there were no bumps along the way.

Most notably Sri Lanka has come under the international spotlight for supposed human rights violations on the part of the armed forces during the war. While

the government claimed that it was addressing the issues progress was unsurprisingly slow. Midst mounting international pressure Sri Lanka withdrew from its commitment to the UNHRC.

That being said this does not indicate a souring relationship. By all accounts, Sri Lanka has and continues to maintain a healthy relationship with the United Nations contributing to some of the inter-governmental bodies’ most historicdecisions. December 2021 will mark the 66th anniversary of Sri Lanka joining the United Nations and it is undeniable that the nation has managed to grow as a result of its partnership with the UN. Therefore, let us take inspiration from the past and work towards a better future with the United Nations.

Source: 2015: 70 Years of the UN and 60 years of Sri Lanka in the UN

Written By: Rtr. Chaveendra Dunuwille, LLB , 2nd Year Edited By: Rtr. Dulithi Jagoda, BSc. Econ and Finance , 3rd Year Design By: Rtr. Christiana Perera, BSc. Data Science and Business Analytics, 2nd Year