Sinhala & Tamil versions attached
Sri Lanka: UN Special Rapporteur on
freedom of religion or belief to visit
GENEVA / COLOMBO (13 August 2019) –
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, will
carry out an official visit to Sri Lanka, from 15 to 26 August 2019.
“I will look at how Sri Lanka promotes
and protects the rights to freedom of religion or belief. The visit will be an
opportunity for me to have an open exchange with the Government to try to gain
a better understanding of how it upholds these rights,” Shaheed said.
“I also look forward to learning about
the efforts of the Government in developing and maintaining peaceful
coexistence among different religious communities.”
The Special Rapporteur will examine
progress made in the implementation of recommendations during the visit of the
former UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir,
in 2005. He will also aim to identify any existing or emerging obstacles to the
enjoyment of the freedom of religion or belief in Sri Lanka by all and will
present recommendations aimed at overcoming such obstacles.
During his 12-day mission, Shaheed
will meet Government officials, representatives of religious or belief
communities, civil society organisations and the UN. He will also visit areas away
from the capital, Colombo.
The Special Rapporteur will hold a
press conference on 26 August 2019, at 14:30 local time at the United Nations
Compound, 202-204 Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, to present his preliminary
observations. Access to the press conference will be strictly limited to
accredited journalists.
Shaheed will present a report with his
conclusions and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in March
2020.
ENDS
Mr. Ahmed Shaheed (The Maldives) was
appointed as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief by the UN
Human Rights Council in 2016. Mr. Shaheed is a Visiting Professor at Essex
University, UK; a former member of the Maldivian presidential Commission
Investigating Corruption; and a foreign policy advisor to the President of the
Maldives. He was Foreign Minister of the Maldives from 2005 to 2007 and from
2008 to 2010. He led the country’s efforts to sign and ratify all nine
international human rights Conventions and to implement them in law and
practice. Mr. Shaheed is the former Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights in Iran.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of
the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the
largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the
general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring
mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues
in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary
basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They
are independent from any government or organization and serve in their
individual capacity.
An e-Digest on Freedom of Religion or
Belief – 25 years of thought by four UN Special Rapporteurs (download yourcopy)
UN Human Rights, Country Page – SriLanka
For more information and media
requests please contact:
In Colombo, during the visit: Chian
Yew Lim (+94 76 238 2687 / clim@ohchr.org
In Geneva, before and after the visit:
Chian Yew Lim (+41 22 917 9938 / clim@ohchr.org) or write to
freedomofreligion@ohchr.org
For media registration for the Press
Conference, please contact: Ms Kaushalya Kathireson, kaushalya.kathireson@one.un.org
For media inquiries related to other
UN independent experts please contact: Mr. Jeremy Laurence (+41 22 917 9383 /
jlaurence@ohchr.org)
Follow news related to the UN’s independent
human rights experts on Twitter @UN_SPExperts.
Concerned about the world we live in?
Then STAND UP for someone’s rights today.
#Standup4humanrights and visit the web page at
http://www.standup4humanrights.org
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