Sri Lanka's permanent representative to the UN in New York criticised UN Special Advisors as "ill-conceived and insensitive" for releasing a joint statement earlier this month, warning Sri Lanka was moving backwards towards inter-ethnic conflict.
In a letter to the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, and the UN Special Advisor on the Responsibility to Protest, Karen Smith, Sri Lanka's Rohan Perera, wrote "it is quite insensitive and ill-conceived that you did not consider it important to share your concerns with the Sri Lankan government first, before going public with your statement. This would have also been in keeping with the key objectives of your respective mandates, i.e. to provide early warning and advocacy."
"I am constrained to state that your statement demonstrates a limited understanding of events and is an expression of preconceived opinions. By stating that “the special advisors noted a recent spate of attacks against Muslim and Christian communities in Sri Lanka, a majority Buddhist country”, and continuing that “the recent violence in Sri Lanka has highlighted a growing influence of nationalists and extremist views of identity in the Asia Region, putting religious minorities at risk”, your statement generalizes events and mischaracterizes facts, which is irresponsible as it is dangerous, and does not conform with the independent nature and credibility of your offices."
Read more here.
Following widespread attacks on Muslims, the UN Special Advisors, Dieng and Smith, released a statement calling on “all ethnic and religious groups in Sri Lanka, as well as the Government, the opposition, civil society and the security sector, to work collaboratively in taking appropriate action and immediately stop these hateful attacks.”
