“I propose that we, as national leaders, take cognizance of this self-discipline and equity-based approach when drawing relevant Action Plans for the future,” he told the fellow Heads of States participating in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President's Media reported.
Addressing the 70th General Debate of the UNGA in New York today (September 30), the President said, in dealing with the past, Sri Lanka will follow a process of truth seeking, justice, reparation and non-recurrence.
President Sirisena said it is imperative that Sri Lanka adopts a new social, economic and political approach to rise up to the challenges of the 21st century. In this regard, reconciliation receives priority attention in my country, he said. He pointed out that the new consensual government under his leadership has already taken several steps to introduce and operationalize constitutional and institutional reforms required to accelerate the achievement of these goals.
“All forms of war and terrorism are a disgrace to humanity,” the President emphasized. He recalled that the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states the manner in which such rebellions break out. “Whatever their root cause is, the challenge of this era is to find ways and means to defeat such brutality against humanity. Resorting to terrorism as a means to solve grievances as well as action taken to eliminate terrorism can create problems. Sri Lanka succeeded in eliminating terrorism, which continues to throttle other developing countries extending from Asia to Africa and Latin America,” he pointed out.
“We defeated one of the world’s most ruthless terror outfits. Equally, our post conflict experiences also have been significant. We believe that all these experiences can be shared fruitfully with other developing countries affected by terrorism. Sri Lanka remains prepared to engage in a more active dialogue with these countries and will continue to speak and advocate against terrorism,” he said.
Referring to Sri Lanka’s achievements, he said that Sri Lanka never compromised on these policies which includes universal free education, free healthcare and eradication of poverty. Following a path of social democracy, Sri Lanka has succeeded in achieving high levels in the Human Development Index, even during the years of conflict. This success is testimony to our commitment for achieving the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations, he said.
“As we learn from the Buddhist ethos prevalent in Sri Lanka, I recognize there are three kinds of human conflicts,” President Sirisena said and listed them as:
*The first is the conflict between the human being and nature. We are constantly engaged in this conflict in order to enjoy material comforts in life. As a result, modern human beings seek to exploit natural resources extensively in the name of development.
*The second is the conflict between ‘human’ and ‘human’. Such conflicts occur among individuals, among communities and among nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that such conflicts occur when human rights are not protected by rule of law, and,
*The third is the conflict within the human being.
“The two kinds of conflict I mentioned earlier occur when we lose the battle within us as human beings. Therefore, this is the root cause of all conflicts,” he said.
