{"id":151459,"date":"2025-08-19T17:47:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:47:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=151459"},"modified":"2025-08-19T17:47:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:47:38","slug":"non-binding-but-deadly-how-unhrc-resolution-a-hrc-60-21-2025-could-destroy-sri-lankas-sovereignty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/08\/19\/non-binding-but-deadly-how-unhrc-resolution-a-hrc-60-21-2025-could-destroy-sri-lankas-sovereignty\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-Binding but Deadly: How UNHRC Resolution A\/HRC\/60\/21 (2025) could destroy Sri Lanka\u2019s Sovereignty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Non-Binding but Deadly: How UNHRC Resolution<\/strong> A\/HRC\/60\/21 (2025)<\/strong> could destroy Sri Lanka\u2019s Sovereignty<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNHRC resolutions are technically non-binding. Yet for Sri Lanka, ending terrorism has been met with relentless scrutiny\u2014a witch hunt targeting select war heroes and commanding officers. Every Resolution since 2009 has been a ticking time bomb, made worse by the 2015 co-sponsorship from the Ranil\u2013Sirisena\u2013Mangala yahapalana\u201d government. While lacking formal legal force, the nations backing A\/HRC\/60\/21 (2025)\u2014notably the UK, Canada, and EU states\u2014can enforce these recommendations through sanctions, aid conditionalities, visa bans, military restrictions, and economic pressure. If passed, these non-binding\u201d recommendations will be weaponized politically, and the Sri Lankan government risks prioritizing their party survival over national sovereignty. This danger is amplified as Sri Lanka\u2019s economic sovereignty is already constrained: the IMF controls key policy levers, the Central Bank operates independently of Sri Lanka\u2019s legislature, and critical national assets remain in foreign hands. The only way forward is clear: Sri Lanka must reject these resolutions outright, realign with the Non-Aligned bloc, deepen ties with traditional friendly nations, and refuse to barter sovereignty for temporary political survival. To concede now is to risk becoming not a partner in the international community \u2014 but a protectorate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Against this backdrop, UNHRC demands \u2014 from a Truth & Reconciliation Commission to full 13th Amendment implementation and external accountability \u2014 are Trojan horses designed to dismantle sovereignty from within, redraw governance structures, and keep Sri Lanka permanently under watch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is colonialism re-defined & restructured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka has already erred in the past by believing compromise would ease the pressure. Co-sponsoring resolutions, flirting with hybrid courts, and entertaining international assistance\u201d only emboldened those determined to rewrite the country\u2019s history and dictate its future. The lesson is clear: Surrender and appeasement, only means demands grow more dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediate Term (0\u20133 months): Sanctions & Diplomatic Pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      UNHRC Resolution Passed<\/strong> \u2013 Though non-binding\u201d Western blocs voting for resolution will consider it mandatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Visa bans \/ travel restrictions<\/strong>  against military & political figures named in OHCHR\/ITJP reports \u2013 may even deny children travel, scholarships or admissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Foreign pressure increases<\/strong> on Sri Lanka to show good faith\u201d \u2013 setting up Truth & Reconciliation mechanisms, or else face punitive measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Economic chokehold begins<\/strong> \u2013 IMF conditions tightened; loan tranches delayed unless Sri Lanka cooperates with Geneva.\u201d Carrot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Sovereignty hit:<\/strong> Central Bank already beyond elected government\u2019s control, enforcing IMF austerity without people\u2019s consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Who is impacted first:<\/strong> Military leadership, political elites, war heroes, and the poor (with fuel, electricity, and tax hikes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short Term (3\u20136 months): Appeasement Phase: Government Trapped<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Pressure to implement 13A fully<\/strong> \u2013 devolution of police & land powers to Provincial Councils, weakening central governance. Even possibility of a UDI\/separate state. Military removed from the North and East, Camps closed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      TRC (Truth & Reconciliation Commission) set up<\/strong> under UN guidelines, opening door for foreign experts\u201d to sit in judgment of Sri Lankans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Targeted sanctions<\/strong> expand on businesses linked to military\/political figures \u2014 banks and companies begin de-risking\u201d Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Asset transfers accelerate<\/strong> \u2013 national infrastructure (ports, energy, telecom, plantations) negotiated into foreign hands under debt restructuring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Sovereignty hit:<\/strong> Sri Lanka loses decision-making over its economy, while national security is compromised by loss of central powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Who is impacted first:<\/strong> Military families, public sector in North\/East, workers in state enterprises facing privatization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medium Term (6\u201312 months): A Nation being disempowered<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Hybrid accountability demands escalate<\/strong> \u2013 calls for international judges, prosecutors, and investigators to override domestic law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      UN monitors embedded<\/strong> in Sri Lankan institutions under guise of capacity building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      IMF-driven austerity deepens<\/strong> \u2013 currency devaluation, tax hikes, welfare cuts, fuel\/electricity privatization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Central Bank, under IMF line, blocks domestic relief measures<\/strong>, widening public suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Foreign corporates take control<\/strong> of key resources (energy grids, ports, agriculture, water supply).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Sovereignty hit:<\/strong> Government becomes a figurehead, with real decision-making power held by IMF, UN, and foreign investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Who is impacted first:<\/strong> General population (price hikes, job losses), farmers & fisherfolk (as land\/water access shifts to corporates).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long Term (12\u201324 months): National Disintegration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Permanent UN oversight<\/strong> \u2013 Sri Lanka placed under a special human rights monitoring mandate,\u201d legitimizing foreign interference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Provincial Councils emboldened<\/strong> \u2013 external actors exploit devolved powers to push federalism\/separatism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Economic colonization complete<\/strong> \u2013 Ports, airports, utilities, and natural resources are majority foreign-owned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Debt-for-assets swaps finalised<\/strong> \u2013 Sri Lanka\u2019s weak anti-national government will trade away sovereignty for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Foreign security interests embedded<\/strong> \u2013 military bases \/ strategic access points\u201d leased out under cover of foreign investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Sovereignty hit:<\/strong> Sri Lanka ceases to function as an independent state \u2014 reduced to a protectorate under foreign control. Sovereign in name only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7      Who is impacted first:<\/strong> Entire population \u2014 loss of sovereignty means loss of future generations\u2019 independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The danger is not Geneva alone, but Geneva + IMF + foreign corporate takeovers working in tandem. The non-binding\u201d resolutions are the political battering ram; IMF dependency is the economic stranglehold; and asset privatization is the Trojan horse. Together, they dismantle sovereignty piece by piece until Sri Lanka is left independent in name only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can and should Sri Lankans do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge Non-Binding but Deadly: How UNHRC Resolution A\/HRC\/60\/21 (2025) could destroy Sri Lanka\u2019s Sovereignty UNHRC resolutions are technically non-binding. Yet for Sri Lanka, ending terrorism has been met with relentless scrutiny\u2014a witch hunt targeting select war heroes and commanding officers. Every Resolution since 2009 has been a ticking time bomb, made worse by the 2015 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151459\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}