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| Sri Lanka |
| Lanka questions UN's efficacy |
| 2007-09-27 |
| Under fire amid a rash of civil war human rights abuses, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has turned the tables on the United Nations, questioning its efficiency, and ability to help tackle terrorism. Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York overnight Rajapaksa, whose administration has vilified UN envoys for criticism, said solutions to armed conflicts must be homegrown and rights should not be used as a tool to victimise countries. “The UN has a mixed record of achievements. As resources received by the UN are limited, it has been only possible to deliver limited results,” Rajapaksa told the assembly on Tuesday in his native Sinhala. “We need to focus on these as they have often been characterized by countless, poorly coordinated, ineffectively designed, ineptly staffed and overlapping programmes, with unnecessary inter-agency rivalry.” Rajapaksa called on the UN to wind up negotiations on a comprehensive convention on international terrorism, saying the body was locked in endless discussion, adding Sri Lanka supports strengthening UN mechanisms for countering fund raising for illegal activities. “State sovereignty, civil society and the rule of law are increasingly being threatened by terrorism and other illegal and illicit activities in many countries,” Rajapaksa said. “Although the UN system has set up mechanisms to deal with many of these problems, the capacity of the UN to address these challenges effectively has been brought into question.” |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Pegged Surprise Meter! Is Bolton working for Lanka? |
| Posted by: Throger Thains8048 2007-09-27 21:13 |
| #1 Needs the Surprise Meter. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2007-09-27 04:59 |