COLOMBO : The United States Ambassador Alaina Teplitz said some of the pandemic-related support that the United States has provided to Sri Lanka has reached more than $8 million to Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 response and recovery.
She was speaking at a roundtable media conference speaking virtually on Thursday 29.
Speaking further, the envoy said :” Any of you would have been tracking the July 15 arrival of more than 1.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine that came straight from the U.S. national stockpile to Sri Lanka, delivered here through the COVAX mechanism. The vaccines have come at no cost to the people of Sri Lanka, so they are a true donation and in addition to the vaccines we have provided medical equipment and supplies, PPE, ventilators and other support to ensure that Sri Lankan health authorities and people can overcome the challenges posed by this global problem.
The United States is the largest single country donor to the COVAX vaccine distribution mechanism, and we are continuing to provide support not only through that funding but also with vaccines and other items coming from our own stockpiles and we’re very committed to providing access to these high quality and WHO authorized vaccines. And building on the shared values and strategic interests that our government has, we hope in the future to increase Sri Lanka’s capacity to foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth, counterterrorism and transnational crime, and to promote the rule of law, transparency and democratic governance.
So we want to continue the partnership. We remain committed to the prosperity and the rights of all Sri Lankans and we look forward to many more years of partnership going forward.
Speaking about human rightds, she said : “As two countries that have democratic political institutions and where we have signed on to international conventions that support human rights and the rule of law. We fundamentally look at Sri Lanka’s human rights commitments as exactly that – Sri Lanka’s commitments to human rights. Our human rights engagement with the government of Sri Lanka is about helping Sri Lanka fulfill those commitments to its people, to the world, and making sure that the highest standards of respect, tolerance and human dignity are in fact in place here.
This is completely consistent, of course, with the sustainable development goal, something that President Rajapaksa has pledged to undertake for the country and that the United States also has supported. So our human rights commitments and engagement here should be understood in that context. This is about Sri Lanka’s journey as much as it’s about the world’s journey to better respect the dignity and rights of every person.
So looking at the context here, of course we continue to talk with the government about challenges to human rights and we note recent actions, for example, the release of prisoners who have been detained, in fact who were arrested, sorry. I think all of them were convicted under the PTA, this was the Poson Poya pardons. That was a really helpful and welcome step forward and I think that we look forward to the effort to look at more people who have been detained under that legislation, legislation that no longer conforms to international norms and does need to be revised.
There are other challenges out there, of course, and I did note that in light of the Supreme Court ruling in 2008 which had upheld the conviction of another one of the pardoned prisoners, Duminda Silva, that didn’t appear to be consistent with SDG goals or maintaining the rule of law.”
“So we want to continue to engage with the government to ensure that the rights of all citizens are protected and that Sri Lanka’s prosperity and sovereignty remain protected through adherence to these international commitments.”
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