Rights experts — Global Issues
“Sri Lanka’s economic collapse needs immediate global attention, not only from humanitarian agencies, but from international financial institutions, private lenders and other countries. . must go to the country’s aid,” surname speak in the statement.
Nine experts express warnings about record-high inflation, rising commodity prices, power shortages, a crippling fuel crisis and a collapsing economy, as the country grapples with political turmoil. never happend.
Crisis protracted
On Wednesday, lawmakers elected six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new President of Sri Lanka.
Former Gotabaya Rajapaksa leader resigned last week after fleeing the country when protesters stormed key government buildings in the capital Colombo.
Sri Lanka has been rocked by massive protests that broke out in March in response to shortages of food, fuel, medicine and other essential items.
The situation is further complicated by economic reforms such as deep tax cuts and debt settlement, which are already deeply ingrained in the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Exposed structural gaps
The crisis had a seriously affect human rights, experts said. Prolonged disruptions in access to food and health care have severely affected the sick, pregnant and lactating women who are in dire need of life support.
“Time and time again, we have seen serious systemic consequences Attiya Waris, the UN’s independent expert on external debt and human rights, said a debt crisis has hit countries, exposing deep structural flaws in the global financial system and affect the exercise of human rights.
In April, UN experts urged the government to guarantee the basic rights of peaceful assembly and expression in peaceful protests, as thousands gathered in front of the beloved President’s office. asked him to resign because of corruption and mishandling of the economic crisis.
United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned the outbreak of violence across the country that left at least seven people dead.
Human rights approach
As foreign exchange reserves dried up, Sri Lanka defaulted on $51 billion in May. The government has taken steps to restructure its debt with the International Monetary Fund.IMF), in June noted that significant progress had been made.
“Any response to mitigate the economic crisis must be human rights, even in the context of negotiations with the IMF,” Waris said.
Sri Lanka’s rising institutional debt problem was highlighted in a report released after an expert’s visit in 2019.
The report found debt repayment to be the country’s biggest expenditure, while highlighting the need for additional alternatives and the pursuit of less harmful policies.
Inflation hit a record high of 54.6% this month, while food inflation rose to 81%.
Experts say the “snowfalling debt and economic crisis” is deepened by the government’s hasty and overwhelming agricultural transition, adding that the World Food Program (WFP) launched an emergency response as nearly 62,000 citizens were in urgent need of assistance.
The experts who issued the statement received their mandate from the UN Dong Nhan Quyen Associationbased in Geneva.
They operate as individuals and are not employees of the United Nations, nor are they paid for their work.