A top government official announced that Sri Lanka will not contest for a seat in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) at the upcoming elections this year.
Sri Lanka lost the vote when it last contested for a seat at the UNHRC in May 2008, a year before the barbaric onslaught of 2009, amidst allegations of human rights taking place in the country.
The government official failed to provide a reason for not contesting.
Earlier this year Sri Lanka lost in a vote at the UNHRC when a resolution, tabled by the United States, regarding Sri Lanka’s human rights and reconciliation issues was passed.
The UNHRC seats are based on unbiased geographical distribution, with the seats being distributed amongst different regions. The seats are allocated as follows, African states - 13, Asia Pacific states -13, Eastern European states-6, Latin American and Caribbean states -8, Western European and other states – 7.