Sri Lanka notes concerns on climate change

He underscored the relevance of the Bandung Principles at a time when global multilateral mechanisms are under strain, when addressing the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in New York, on the sidelines of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Given that NAM encompasses 55 percent of the world’s population it has a moral duty to give voice to the concerns of the Global South, especially the developing small States.

The Foreign Secretary also expressed hope that the upcoming COP25, to be held in Chile would galvanize efforts in combating climate change by meeting the commitments entailed in the Paris Agreement.

Foreign Secretary Aryasinha stated that Sri Lanka attaches importance on combating all forms of racism, hate and violent extremism and that there is a need to focus on the new threats that have emerged, demonstrated by the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka.

He stressed that such a global menace threatens the security of all nations and cannot be tackled by a single country alone but requires collective efforts and called on NAM to collectively contribute to this global security threat in a constructive and cohesive manner.

The Foreign Secretary stated that Sri Lanka believes in a free society where freedom of expression is ensured, however there is a need to be conscious of the growing threat of hate speech and abuse of the internet and social media platforms.