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Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa
BIMSTEC DAY MESSAGE OF HON FOREIGN MINISTER DINESH GUNAWARDENA
Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane attends Commonwealth Senior Officials meeting in London
Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane led the Sri Lanka Delegation to the Commonwealth Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) and the Committee of the Whole (COW) held in London, United Kingdom from 03-06 September 2024.
The discussions at the meetings focused on the arrangements for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in October in Samoa and its outcome documents.
On the sidelines of the Commonwealth meetings, Foreign Secretary Wijewardane met the Permanent Under Secretary Sir Philip Barton of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom on 03 September 2024. Foreign Secretary Wijewardane and Permanent Under Secretary Barton discussed the ongoing implementation of the outcomes of the second meeting of the Sri Lanka – UK Strategic Dialogue convened in May 2024 in Colombo.
Foreign Secretary Wijewardane apprised Permanent Under Secretary of Sri Lanka’s progress in stabilizing the economy and the work to achieve sustainable development for all segments of the people. The Foreign Secretary also welcomed the recent high-level visits from the UK, as well as the ongoing discussions related to the implementation of the Developing Country Trading Scheme (DCTS) in Sri Lanka which is an impetus to bilateral trade. Both sides welcomed the recent signature between the two countries of the MoU on Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP). The vibrant people-to-people ties emanating from the significant community of Sri Lankan heritage in the UK also featured in the discussions.
On 05 September 2024, Foreign Secretary Wijewardane met with The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth at the Commonwealth Secretariat. Both sides reviewed the ongoing collaborations between Sri Lanka and the Commonwealth Secretariat in diverse areas such as education, combating climate change, mangrove conservation and assistance in strengthening financial oversight. Secretary General Scotland apprised the Foreign Secretary of the deployment of the Commonwealth Election Observer Group led by H.E. Danny Faure, former President of Seychelles to observe the forthcoming Presidential Election. The Secretary General also highlighted that for the first time, the upcoming Commonwealth Summit will be held in a Pacific Island Member State of the Commonwealth - Samoa - and would draw attention to climate change and related challenges.
Foreign Secretary Wijewardane also met with The Rt Hon David Lammy, Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs at the Lancaster House on 04 September along with Heads of SOM delegations, and with Hon. Catherine West Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo – Pacific for the FCDO at a working dinner on 05 September.
On invitation extended by the Anagarika Dharmapala Trust, Foreign Secretary Wijewardane addressed a gathering at the London Buddhist Vihara on 06 September where she highlighted the important religious contacts between UK and Sri Lanka carried out through the work of the Vihara and the British Maha Bodhi Society of the UK.
The Foreign Secretary was accompanied to the meetings by the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the UK Rohitha Bogollagama and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the High Commission of Sri Lanka to the UK.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
09 September 2024
SRI LANKA CALLS ON US HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE NOT TO PROCEED WITH RESOLUTION ON SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka, through its Ambassador in Washington Ravinatha Aryasinha, formally called on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) not to proceed with H. RES. 413 on Sri Lanka moved by Congresswoman Deborah Ross (Democrat/North Carolina) on 18 May 2021.
In a communication addressed to FAC Chair Representative Gregory Meeks (Democrat/New York) and Ranking Member Representative Michael McCaul (Republican/Texas), the Sri Lanka Government said that it vehemently opposes the contents of the resolution which contains allegations relating to Sri Lanka that are inaccurate, biased and unsubstantiated, raising grave suspicion regarding the intention of the resolution.
The communication was accompanied by a detailed analysis of the resolution, which laid out paragraph by paragraph, its prejudicial nature.
It was observed that the proposed resolution which equates the LTTE - proscribed by the US since 1997 and named by the FBI in 2008 as “among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world” - to an ‘armed independence organization’, exposes the resolution’s origins and purpose. The Resolution encourages separatism and questions even the nature of the Sri Lanka State, by references to ‘Traditional Tamil Homelands’. This not only misrepresents established historical facts, and present-day realities, but also contributes to supporting the dismemberment of Sri Lanka, which is the ultimate goal of the LTTE and its supporters.
The resolution’s willful ignorance of the USA’s own security concerns about the LTTE and its front organizations and efforts at glorification of terrorism, will give inspiration to rump elements of the LTTE and its numerous front organizations within the US and across the world, as well as to other terrorist organizations.
Observing that the USA had been “a consistent defense partner of Sri Lanka, including in Sri Lanka’s war against terror”, the Sri Lanka Government said “the resolution which is at significant variance with stated U.S. policy, across Administrations – both Democratic and Republican, may lead to an erroneous conclusion that the House supports armed acts to achieve political goals. This would undermine the US Administration’s own foreign policy foundation of being rooted in democratic values, and negatively impact the warm bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the USA”.
It was asserted that the Sri Lanka Government, having struggled for nearly 30 years to defeat LTTE terrorism, consistent with its constitutional duties to protect its citizens regardless of race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion or place of birth, launched a humanitarian operation to protect and liberate all Sri Lankans. The communication also outlined the measures taken by the Government since the defeat of terrorism in May 2009, to address the needs of 300,000 internally displaced who had been used as human shields by the retreating LTTE, to rebuild and develop infrastructure in the conflict affected areas and to restore livelihood opportunities to many, including to over 12,000 ex-LTTE combatants – also comprising 596 child soldiers, who were rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society.
It was recalled that following the ending of the conflict, the then government in 2013 conducted Northern Provincial Council elections, ensuring democratic freedoms and rights to the people of the North, and since 2017, all minority parties in Parliament, including the TNA and their allies, supported the deferral of elections. The Supreme Court ordered for a fresh legislation on this matter. For nearly 3 years, the HRC or Western countries having not taken issue with the delay of elections to Provincial Councils, including that of the Northern Province, however, presently have projected it as a major issue, at a time the current government has taken the initiative to conduct the election at the earliest possible.
The reports on Sri Lanka cited in the Resolution, including the OISL Report of 2015, constituted a mere subjective narrative of events including "desk-reviewed" information, which failed to reveal sources and were not verifiable. On the contrary, there was an abundance of verifiable evidence that has been ignored, contained in, inter alia, the Lessons Learnt Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), the ‘Paranagama Commission’, reports from the UN and international agencies including the UNDP, UNICEF and the ICRC, as well as information presented before the UK House of Lords by Lord Naseby challenging among other things the vastly exaggerated civilian casualty figures. Expert opinions including by international legal luminaries, as well as dispatches in real time by Colonel Anton Gash, Military Attaché of the British High Commission in Colombo and statements by Lt. Col. Lawrence Smith who had served as Defense Attaché of the US Embassy during the last phase of the conflict, also contested the narrative of the reports cited in the Resolution.
Having had Sri Lanka co-sponsor UN Resolution 30/1 in October 2015 and extracted a commitment that Sri Lanka will initiate an accountability mechanism which would include foreign judges and lawyers, which was unconstitutional, for 5 years neither the UN bodies nor the US and other proponents of this resolution, pressed the previous government to carry out its promises.
Calling for an “international mechanism” at this juncture is sinister, at a time the present Government has provided a credible transparent domestic process to address the concerns raised, by in January 2021 instituting a Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCOI), which had on 4 March 2021 invited “any person, persons or organizations to submit written representations or information or any other material which relates to the above for the Commission to inquire”. The Commission has been conducting hearings since April and heard testimony from witnesses.
Foreign Ministry
Colombo
05 June 2021
Sri Lankan victims of human trafficking rescued from Myanmar safely repatriated to Sri Lanka
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with Sri Lankan Missions in Myanmar and Thailand successfully facilitated the repatriation of 20 Sri Lankans who had been victims of human trafficking to Myanmar. They arrived safely in Colombo on September 05, 2024.
Following the Ministry’s persistent efforts, these Sri Lankans were rescued and evacuated from Myanmar on August 14, 2024, with close collaboration and support from law enforcement authorities in both Myanmar and Thailand.
Officials from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Bangkok met with the rescued Sri Lankans on August 15, 2024, in Mae Sot, a border city in Thailand near Myanmar, to ensure their safety and well-being during their stay in Thailand. The Thai government provided them with food, shelter, and other essentials until the repatriation formalities were completed. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) supported the repatriation by providing air tickets and transportation. Mr.Kanchana Bandara, Director of Consular Affairs Division, received the group of 20 Sri Lankans at Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, on September 05, 2024.
The Consular Affairs Division of the Ministry, in collaboration with Sri Lankan Missions in Yangon and Bangkok and other relevant stakeholders, coordinated the rescue and repatriation of the Sri Lankans.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been informed that 35 Sri Lankans remain trapped in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar. The Ministry is persistently working with relevant authorities to ensure their early rescue and repatriation.
The Ministry strongly urges the public not to fall victim to human trafficking syndicates when seeking employment abroad. The Ministry advises Sri Lankans to strictly adhere to the government-approved procedures for securing foreign employment and avoid unauthorized channels.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
09 September 2024
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launches online authentication service for birth, marriage and death certificates for the public
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched online authentication process for birth, marriage and death certificates, in partnership with the Registrar General’s Department at a ceremony held on September 2, 2024 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
With the new online process, Sri Lankan citizens can apply for the authentication of their birth, marriage, and death certificates through the Consular Affairs Division’s online platform. The authenticated certificates will be sent to the applicant via email, eliminating the need for in-person application or collection of the authenticated documents.
The event was attended by Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, Foreign Affairs State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya, Acting Secretary Foreign Affairs Shanika Dissanayake, Registrar General Samantha Wijayasinghe, Commissioner General of Examinations Amith Jayasundara, Director General of Consular Affairs Sisira Senavirathne, and other senior officials.
In his remarks, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, emphasized the significance of digitizing document authentication services to enhance efficiency and effectiveness for the public. He noted that the Ministry’s journey in online document authentication began with the launch of online verification for GCE O/L and A/L certificates in collaboration with the Department of Examinations, marking a major milestone in the digital transition.
The Minister also highlighted that the introduction of online authentication for birth, marriage, and death certificates issued by the Registrar General's Department, represents another key advancement in the digitalization process. It was also highlighted that educational certificates and birth, marriage, and death certificates together constitute approximately 55 percent of the documents authenticated daily by the Consular Affairs Division.
The Consular Affairs Division has taken further steps to enhance its online document authentication services by integrating its Electronic Document Authentication System (e-DAS) with other key government authorities and entities, which include local universities, Sri Lanka Medical Council, Sri Lanka Police, the Department of Motor Traffic, TVEC, Department of the Registrar of Companies, British Council, and trade chambers, thereby making document authentication services available to the public effectively.
The procedures for online authentication of birth, marriage, and death certificates are as follows:
- Visit the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and submit an online application through the portal provided: https://mfa.gov.lk/online-consular-services/
- Once the details are submitted, applicants will receive a link to make the required payments. The fees for certificate generation and authentication should be paid online through this link.
- After completing the transaction, the authenticated document (customer copy) will be emailed to the address provided by the applicant. The customer copy needs to be submitted to the relevant foreign missions as required.
For any inquires, the Consular Affairs Division of the Ministry can be reached at telephone number 011-2338812 or 0112-446302, and via e-mail at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
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