United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc-Andre Franche said that Sri Lanka, a founding member of the United Nations, will be given maximum support for all its activities and as a country that quickly recovered, among the 20 countries in the world that have fallen economically in the past, Sri Lanka should be set as an example. He further said that the UN Secretary General also holds the same opinion. A meeting between Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC, and the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Sri Lanka Marc-Andre Franche, was held yesterday (28) at the Justice Ministry, where he expressed these views.
By introducing new laws, the measures taken by the Sri Lankan Government to establish the rule of law, the introduction of the new Anti-Terrorism Act, the Anti-Corruption Act, steps taken to protect human rights and the reconciliation process to create peace and harmony between nations was the focus at the meeting.
The Justice Minister explained in detail the facts about the recovery of the country’s economy, which collapsed due to the economic crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Easter attacks, under the leadership of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, within a period of one year.
The UN representative discussed with the Justice Minister regarding the Anti-Terrorism Bill to be brought in place of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Minister said that for the new Anti-Terrorism Bill, political parties and civil organisations were prepared and received opinions from all sides and the Cabinet approved the Bill, hence it will be possible to get the approval of Parliament quickly.
The Minister further said that the Anti-Corruption Act has been passed to reduce corruption and fraud, which is a major obstacle to the development of the country, and for that purpose, opinions have been obtained from all parties.
Minister Rajapakshe said that in order to confirm the rule of law, more than 30 new legal reforms have been passed in the last 10 months and among them, the law passed to regulate election expenses is important. Also the Minister appreciated the support the United Nations continually provides to Sri Lanka.
The Resident Coordinator inquired about steps taken to improve cooperation between nations after the war. The establishment of the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation is currently underway, and a new Bill to strengthen the work of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation has been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers and passed, thereby improving national unity and religious harmony, the Minister stated.
Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, Wasantha Perera also joined the meeting.