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At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this week, China delivered a sharp reminder to the world: Sri Lanka’s human rights path should be decided by Sri Lankans alone.
“China urges relevant countries to respect the Sri Lankan people’s own choice of the human rights development path, abandon intervention in internal affairs and political pressure, and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation,” Beijing’s delegate declared during the Council’s 60th Session.
The statement underscored China’s broader geopolitical position — defending an island state that is both a strategic Belt and Road partner and a flashpoint in the global struggle between Western influence and alternative models of governance.
A Long-Running UN Battleground
Since the end of its civil war in 2009, Sri Lanka has faced scrutiny at the Human Rights Council over alleged wartime abuses, reconciliation failures, and democratic backsliding. Western states have pressed Colombo for independent investigations and safeguards for civil society, while Sri Lankan governments have alternated between compliance and resistance.
China’s latest intervention comes as President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s administration seeks to prove its reformist credentials at home and abroad.
Beijing’s Defence of Colombo
China highlighted Sri Lanka’s recent initiatives — the Clean Sri Lanka Project, anti-corruption reforms, the creation of an independent prosecutor’s office, and progress on the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings investigation. Critics say these claims are selective, but Beijing framed them as proof of “tangible steps” that should be judged on Sri Lanka’s own terms.
Rejecting what it called the “politicisation and instrumentalisation of human rights,” China argued that punitive measures and external pressure only destabilise fragile societies.
Economics Behind Diplomacy
China’s stance also reflects hard economics. As Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral creditor — with loans worth about $7 billion — Beijing played a pivotal role in enabling Colombo’s IMF bailout by restructuring debt. China also supplied free Sinopharm vaccines during the pandemic, a gesture still remembered locally.
Sri Lanka’s Balancing Act
For Sri Lanka, Beijing’s words offer diplomatic cover at a time of fragile recovery from its 2022 economic collapse. Inflation has eased, but growth remains weak and public frustration over austerity lingers.
While China’s support is vital, Colombo also relies on Western aid, trade, and IMF backing, as well as India’s regional influence. President Dissanayake’s “non-aligned foreign policy for the 21st century” seeks to balance all sides — though critics say it risks paralysis.
For now, the UN’s debates echo at home: economic revival may dominate headlines, but for victims of war crimes and families of the disappeared, justice remains the unfinished chapter.
