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146th IPU ASSEMBLY & RELATED MEETING, MANAMA, BAHRAIN

11th – 15th March 2023

PROMOTING PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES:

FIGHTING INTOLERANCE -Theme of the General Debate

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To begin with, I would like to say that we are honoured and privileged to be in this wonderful
capital and largest city of Bahrain on behalf of my delegation. It is a great pleasure for me to
address the 146th IPU Assembly Conference today and I wish to thank the honorable chairman
and Speaker of the National Assembly of Bahrain and their team, the Inter-Parliamentary
Union, and the organizers of this event for their tremendous efforts for the success of this
prestigious event.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, let me discuss the theme by quoting the famous words of the king of Bahrain, His
Majesty Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on Democracy.

“Democracy is not just constitutional and legislative rules: it is a culture and practice that
adheres to the law and respects international human rights principles”

Indeed, it is true and correct. Creating a democratic culture and practicing democratic values
are more significant than mere only the rules and principles.

I believe we are bound to create peaceful coexistence ourselves firstly within families,
firstly within neighborhoods, within cities, and within nations at large within the world.
And each one of us is individually responsible for the protection of the planet we have
inherited and will pass on to future generations. We must be fully aware transforming
peace into effective actions is a road full of obstacles in today’s world; it is harder so than

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in the past. The reasons are that, at present within the international system, there has been
an increase in nationalism, protectionism, self-interest, intolerance, xenophobia, disrespect
for one’s own population, and an increasing in local and international conflict. We must
understand, at present, many countries are facing myriad challenges in the face of
performing viable democratic values. Further, the COVID pandemic may also have directly
and indirectly exacerbated these uneven challenges because of mostly economic harms that
are raised due to the pandemic ended up with political unrest. Now is the time to plan for
common survival.

When it comes to discussion on inclusiveness society, such society must be based on respect
for all human rights and fundamental freedom, cultural and religious diversity, social
justice, democratic participation, and rule of law. It is important to note that the seminal
case of 1993, Oberti v. Board of Education, established “inclusion is a right, not a privilege
for a select few”. So, creating an inclusive society must be accepted by all democratic
governments under the basic law, because it is crucial to regulate without any
discrimination. Especially diverse countries like us should respect citizens without
discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex or disabilities.

Ladies and Gentleman,

Now, I wish to draw your attention to sharing my country’s experience with you.

A tiny island, Sri Lanka is known as home to some of the major ethnic groups such as Sinhalese,
Muslims, Tamils, Burghers, and Malays. The people are further categorized within different
religions such as Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. Based on their archaeological
evidence, these ethnic groups have a long history together co-existing among each other despite
many unpleasant and hostile events flaring up often. Sri Lanka historically had a good track
record of maintaining social equilibrium and ethnic harmony among the Sinhalese Buddhists,
Muslims, and Tamils.

Mostly Sinhalese are the majority in Sri Lanka. Similarly, Tamils, Muslims, and burger people
are other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. Since independence, everyone’s expectation is to live
peacefully as Sri Lankans, because their religions are taught the value of peace and co-
existence. Sinhala people are mostly Buddhists and Buddhism has long been celebrated as a
religion of peace and non-violence. Peace is a central concept in the religion of the Buddha.
According to the Islam religion, Peace is the pinnacle of the Muslim paradise. God is peace.
Christians accept that Biblical peace is not something we can create on our own; it is a fruit of

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the Spirit. God is the source of peace. Thus, particularly, all our nation learn and practice
importance of peace and tolerance through their religious beliefs and from their religious
leaders. Everyone's expectation is that everyone lives peacefully as Sri Lankans.

We accept and respect all democratic values respecting freedom and rights within the diversity.
Article 12(1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka guarantees to all people’s equality before the law
and equal protection of the law. Article 12(2) guarantees the fundamental right to non-
discrimination on the grounds of “race, religion, language, cast, sex, political opinion, place of
birth or any such grounds”. All ethnic and regional groups are naturally free to represent
political bodies through a free and fair election. The general law of the country takes a
subordinate position in the sphere of Customary or Personal Laws, as applicable to the
respective communities. Thus, there are no discriminatory laws for ethnic communities rather
than protecting them.

Furthermore, the government maintains a zero-tolerance policy on any act of religious hatred
or intolerance. In keeping with the international obligations, the Parliament of Sri Lanka
passed International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act No. 56 of 2007. The
primary purpose of this statute was to recognize the rights which are not reorganized already
under the constitution. ICCR Act already criminalizes propagating or advocating religions or
advocating religious or racial hatred. Also, the office of National Unity and Reconciliation of
Sri Lanka is an entity under the Ministry of Justice with the goal of promoting harmony and
unity among people in Sri Lanka.

You know, Sri Lanka is the oldest democratic country in South Asia. Last month we celebrated
the 75th Independence Day. Historically our country was conquered by various foreign nations
and freed from Western imperialism. We were able to win that freedom through the efforts
made by all the nations of our country for freedom. Even though we have faced a 30-year
internal ethnic war, we have proven in our history that we are a nation of harmony. Following
the conflict, the Government renewed its commitment to reconciliation and thereafter embark
on several initiatives towards this goal. However, even today, we, all nations, cooperate with
each other in that way.

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

Parliaments have the ultimate responsibility for the implementation of peace and are an
important arena for creating an inclusive society. Thus, Parliaments are moreover an arena
where hitherto underrepresented communities and marginalized groups can seek formal
political representation via elections and be given a voice.

The Parliament of Sri Lanka has proved that the house represents all ethnic groups through the
parliamentary general election without discrimination. Although earlier under British rule our
legislative bodies were represented on an ethnic basis that was changed in 1931. Afterward, all
can represent the political bodies through free and fair elections. Additionally, Parliament
never enacts legations that are a violation of ethnic rights.

Especially, I should mention here, Parliament as an institution, we are always trying to

promote peaceful co-existence and inclusiveness through parliament functions. It is important
to highlight here that the constitution of Sri Lanka provides the necessary legal grounds to
practice representative democracy stably through the parliament. Parliament has the utmost
responsibility to create an inclusive society altogether of ethnic groups, youth, women,
differently-abled persons and indigenous communities in Sri Lanka.

Recently we have experienced an unexpected moment in Sri Lankan political history. Unlike
any previous instances in the country’s history, the citizens demanded to end a traditional way
of governing patterns to enhance accountability and the inclusive culture in Sri Lanka. In this
tension, people passed a message for us to rethink the democratic deliberation and redress
highlighted demands, especially by youth.

As a result of these demands under the president’s will, parliament has taken action to establish
parliamentary sectorial oversight committees and give representation to youth. In particular,
at the moment we amended. The Parliamentary standing orders to give youth representation to
parliamentary committees. Likewise, we took steps to implement knowledge-sharing
workshops to educate the youth on the Parliamentary Practice and Precedence through the
outreach section of the Media and Communication Department of the Parliament.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Parliament of Sri Lanka encourages all citizens, including the most vulnerable, to involve
themselves in the democratic decision-making process. Especially Women’s Parliamentarians’
Caucus pays attention to the issues relating to women in Sri Lanka respecting their rights and

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dignity. The caucus is an apolitical body, which aims to address crucial problems such as
poverty, domestic violence, child marriages, teen pregnancy, girls’ nutrition, and so on. The
Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus successfully realized some achievements. One was the
amendment to the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance (chapter 262) and obtaining a 25%
quota for women in 2017. In addition, the opening of the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion
(GESI) Corner for Parliament can be pointed out as a successful attempt to secure gender
equality and gender-sensitive parliament through the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus.
Furthermore, the caucus looks into the establishment of an independent Ombudswoman on
gender issues under the office of the Ombudsperson to investigate and provide redress for
injustice against individual women in the public sector, to legislate for the purpose of
expediting cases of violence against women and girls.

Further, we were able to establish a Select Committee of Parliament to look into and report to
Parliament its recommendations to ensure gender equity and equality with special emphasis on
looking into gender-based discrimination and violations of women’s rights in Sri Lanka. I
strongly believe that through such proposals to secure women’s rights we can transform a
country or the world into a more just and peaceful place.

In his throne speech, the President, His Excellency Ranil Wickremesinghe mentioned that the
government is taking action to develop war-affected areas by solving land issues. Further,
Streamlining and expediting the process of tracing missing persons, and giving special attention
to the Upcountry Tamil communities will be other policy decisions of the government.
Furthermore, he highlighted that the government is drafting new laws such as the Jana Sabha
Act for the function of representing public opinion, National Commission on Women’s Act,
the Gender Equality Act, the Women’s Empowerment Act, the Child Safety Act, and Youth
Parliament Control Act. As legislative members, we provide our fullest support to initiate
such positive and constructive actions of the government.

I confidently believe that in developing a diverse country like Sri Lanka under the same spirit
inclusiveness and peaceful coexistence are needed. Peace and tolerance are very important for
Sri Lanka to develop the nation for achieving the goals of the country, social welfare, justice,
and prosperity.

Let me conclude my address with the utmost will to win and sustain the peace of earth.

Thank you.
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