Address by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka

6^th World Congress Against the Death Penalty 

Despite its widespread use, for millennia the death penalty has caused lingering societal discomfort and unease. Fairly early on in history many enlightened leaders have found the death penalty degrading of human dignity. For example, in ancient Sri Lanka a number of kings - influenced by the Buddha’s teaching - abolished the death penalty. In fact, for much of the first, third, fourth and thirteenth centuries the death penalty was not employed in Sri Lanka. 

Remarks to Media by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera

following discussions with US Asst. Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal & US Asst. Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour

Tom Malinowski

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombo. 12 July 2016

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, 

It is a pleasure to welcome Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal and Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Tom Malinowski to Sri Lanka and to this Ministry, once again. 

I am sure that by now, both Nisha and Tom are quite familiar to all of you. 

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

It has been an honour and a great privilege to welcome to Sri Lanka the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, H.E. Wang Yi. The visit is significant as it is the first high level visit and the first visit by a Foreign Minister of China, following the formation of the National Unity Government in Sri Lanka.

ADVANCING RECONCILIATION DIPLOMACY

Speech by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, MP

at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI)

Oslo, 21 June 2016

Ladies and Gentlemen, in fact all of you are aware, that on the 08^th of January last year in a historic election, in fact what the world calls the rainbow election of 2015, the people of Sri Lanka voted for change, and for democracy, reconciliation and development, the three pillars on which the Government of President Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe are taking the country forward today. In fact on that day, the people of Sri Lanka chose free and fair elections, good governance and the rule of law over authoritarianism and impunity; they chose stability, reconciliation and peace over the politics of fear and hate which had prevailed for many, many years previously.  And they eschewed isolationist crony capitalism for openness to the world and a competitive, transparent rules-based economy.