Geneva Circus: The Show Goes On

If these arguments are to be taken at face value, then, simply engaging with the core group knowing fully well that no serious concerns of Sri Lanka will be taken on board barring minor changes to the draft resolution not only do not make sense, but also is embarrassing to us as a nation.

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Exactly one year ago on 13 October 2024, I wrote an essay titled "The Geneva Circus' in the government's own Sunday Observer suggesting that the government should be ready to handle the regular and unreasonable resolution titled, 'Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka' at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). However, going by what transpired at the recent 60th session of the UNHRC in September 2025 in relation to that resolution (A/HRC/60/L.1/Rev.1), the government has fallen miserably short in upholding the country's dignity in the international arena.

Resolution A/HRC/60/L.1/Rev.1 was adopted by the UNHRC earlier this month on 6 October 2025. It extends the mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) and all work requested of it by the Council in its resolution 51/1 of 6 October 2022. This effectively means that the mandate of the external evidence gathering mechanism of the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, a.k.a the Sri Lanka Accountability Project, which was estab lished four years ago despite Sri Lanka's protest, has been given a further lease of life.