The United Nations (UN) has urged Sri Lanka to advance reconciliation and justice for all communities.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council at its 50th Session today that the Sri Lanka Government must ensure immediate relief for the most marginalized and vulnerable groups and prioritise social protection as it negotiates a recovery plan.
“I hope efforts will focus on deeper institutional reforms to ensure greater transparency and accountability in governance, reduce inequalities and advance reconciliation and justice for all communities,” she told the UNHRC in Geneva.
She also said that the war in Ukraine continues to destroy the lives of many, causing havoc and destruction.
“The horrors inflicted on the civilian population will leave their indelible mark, including on generations to come,” Bachelet said.
She noted that the social, economic and political ramifications of the war in Ukraine ripple across the region and globally, with no end in sight.
A global food, fuel and finance crisis now risks plunging millions into food insecurity and poverty. 1.2 billion people live in countries that are severely exposed and vulnerable to all three dimensions of finance, food, and energy, simultaneously.
The World Food Programme estimates that the number of severely food insecure people is expected to grow from 276 million at the start of 2022 to 323 million in the course of the year.
According to the UN Global Crisis and Response Group the combination of higher food and energy prices, growing inflation, export restrictions, and tightening financial conditions will be devastating, in particular on the most vulnerable.
Inequalities between and within countries are skyrocketing, threatening COVID-19 recoveries, undermining progress in the implementation of the SDGs and slowing down climate action.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
