http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/03/15/news30.asp

LLRC - one of many reconciliation processes
Sri Lankan permanent representative in Geneva Tamara Kunanayakam exercising
her right to reply to the comments made on Sri Lanka by the European Union,
Norway, France, Canada, Belgium, UK, Ireland, and Australia, under Agenda Item
04 of the General Debate yesterday said that the report of the United Nations
Secretary General's Panel of Experts was a culmination of private consultations.
Full text:
Regrettably, the countries referred to above, have felt it necessary to
prejudge Sri Lanka's intention to implement the recommendations of its domestic
mechanism, the LLRC, which is one of the many reconciliation processes that Sri
Lanka is engaged in.
My delegation has already briefed this Council in great detail on the steps
taken to implement the recommendations, including in a time bound manner through
the National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights.
I wish to reiterate Sri Lanka's position that the report of the United
Nations Secretary General's Panel of Experts was the culmination of a private
consultation and is not the product, or a request, of the Human Rights Council,
the General Assembly or any other UN body. Its mandate did not extend to fact
finding or investigation, and the assertions set out in the report remain
unsubstantiated.
Any action, such as the resolution tabled by the US at this Council, that
pre-judges the outcome of a functioning domestic mechanism put in place by a
sovereign Government to cater to its domestic requirements, will undermine the
well-entrenched rule of international law that domestic remedies must first be
exhausted, and will amount to undue interference in an internal process.
My delegation is gravely concerned that this precedent setting initiative,
which seeks to address past issues, will, if adopted, effectively transform this
Council into a Tribunal, modifying the powers entrusted to it by the General
Assembly, politicizing the institution and severely affecting its credibility
and legitimacy.
My delegation wishes to remind this Council of the Charter requirement,
reflected in its Articles 55 and 56, that human rights shall be promoted through
international cooperation. Any attempt to impose advice and technical
cooperation from the Office of the High Commissioner and the Special Procedures
mechanisms will be in violation of that requirement. In this regard, I wish to
reiterate that the Universal Periodic Review mechanism is the appropriate and
only forum to address the human rights situation of all countries in a
cooperative, non-selective, and impartial manner, and in conformity with the
principles upon which this Council was founded.
Sri Lanka urges the Council not to initiate action in contravention of the
purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and the Declaration of
Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation
among States in accordance with the Charter.
In conclusion, I wish to, in this regard, thank the delegation of Japan which
has in its statement recognized the will of the Government of Sri Lanka to
implement the recommendations of the LLRC.
My delegation would like to urge the proponents of the resolution to
constructively engage with Sri Lanka, both bilaterally and multilaterally, in a
spirit of cooperation, without resorting to action within the Council which is
unnecessary and unwarranted, and would adversely impact the reconciliation
process in Sri Lanka.
I thank you Madam President!