International Experts Warn Sri Lanka against dangerous Ambassadorial Appointments

International experts have expressed dismay at the recent flurry of Sri Lankan ambassadorial appointments made on the eve of the parliamentary elections as some of these political appointees have poor ethical and human rights records. They have warned that while these envoys are the representatives of the President, they will not have the full cooperation of the receiving states as they may not reflect the will of people which will only be gauged after the August 17th elections.

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Most of the newly appointed envoys do not understand the language and culture of the receiving states and do not have the skills needed to promote Sri Lanka as a business destination, they pointed out. ``Shuffling papers and passively attending meetings will no longer cut it, if they do not bring in investments, industries, tourists and jobs to Sri Lanka, they said. They further stated that most of these envoys do not reflect the full ethnic, gender and cultural diversity of Sri Lanka and that they should not be posted until after the elections when an inclusive national unity government is formed. Sri Lanka came out of a 27 year long ethnic conflict in May 2009. At a time when Sri Lanka needs all the goodwill it can get, it is stubbornly determined to make a bad situation worse, they warned. The EU, US and other Western states will hold Sri Lanka accountable during the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), session in September and Sri Lanka is likely to be taken by surprise as concerns expressed by smaller EU states are not being acted upon by the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry they stated. The 30th Session of the HRC will be held from 14 September - 2 October 2015 and this will overlap the 70th UN General Assembly (UNGA), Session, where heads of state and government of Western states will demand answers from the Sri Lankan President on his maiden visit to the UNGA.

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They regretted that the new government had not conducted a value for money audit of the scores of diplomatic representations established mindlessly during the previous regime as many of them were used by relatives of politicians as looting enterprises. They also pointed out that while wealthy counties such as The Netherlands and Switzerland were merging their diplomatic operations to cut costs, Sri Lanka was continuing on its wasteful path to debt and ruin at a time when austerity was the cornerstone of national and foreign policies, worldwide. These international experts also warned that the millions in foreign exchange was being wasted on maintaining 25 costly and useless Sri Lankan diplomatic and consular representations. Monies which could be better used to provide skills and jobs to youth and women especially in the post-war North and East. This column will revisit the diminishing role and influence of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans in international organizations and those profiting from it next.

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