2024-01-26
News Categories : Committee News
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations, which met on 24.01.2024, drew its attention towards Sri Lanka and the Non-Aligned Movement.
Furthermore, the particular regarding the participation of Sri Lanka at the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Kampala, Uganda was also discussed at the Committee meeting held.
The Committee to which Member of Parliament Hon. Namal Rajapaksa is the Chair, met on the said day under the Chairmanship of Member of Parliament Hon. Niroshan Perera and Hon. Madhura Withanage.
The officials representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Colombo Conference hosted by Ceylon in Kandy from 28 April to 2 May 1954 is regarded as having provided the momentum to discuss Asian-African solidarity and lead to the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia, which was the most immediate antecedent to the establishment of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) based on the 10 Bandung Principles.
Furthermore, the officials present also explained to the Committee that Sri Lanka’s long and active involvement in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) culminated in the country hosting the 5th NAM Summit from 16-19 August 1976 in Colombo which was the first NAM Summit to be held in the Asian Region. The 86 countries participated together adopted Colombo Declaration that focused on political and economic co-operation.
Under Sri Lanka’s Chairmanship of the Movement, the Non-Aligned Movement called for holding of a Special Session at the UN General Assembly on disarmament and took a strong stance against the Apartheid in South Africa.
Committee Members and Members of Parliament the Hon. Niroshan Perera, the Hon. Madhura Withanage and the Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Harini Amarasuriya were present at the Committee meeting.
The officials representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Youth Representatives of the Committee were present for this Committee meeting which was held in Parliament.
2026-06-19
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Environment focused its attention on the issue of water pollution in the Kelani River when it met in Parliament recently (10th June) under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Environment, Dr. Dammika Patabendi.During the meeting, the Committee was briefed on the progress of discussions being held with companies that have expressed willingness to invest in a project aimed at cleaning the waters of the Kelani River.The Committee also discussed a number of proposals and other issues raised by Hon. Members of Parliament.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
2026-06-18
A meeting of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus was held in Parliament recently to discuss the importance of incorporating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s national budget formulation process and to examine the challenges associated with its implementation.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya also participated in the discussion.A key concern raised during the discussion was the lack of adequate data and indicators to accurately assess and measure women’s economic contributions within the budgetary process. Drawing on examples of approaches adopted in India and other countries, members of the Caucus underscored the need to identify and address existing systemic and technical gaps in Sri Lanka’s budgeting framework.The Caucus also emphasized the importance of disaggregating data by gender in project reporting and strengthening digital data management systems to support such efforts. It was further noted that identifying relevant gender-related considerations at the initial stages of project design and implementation at the ministerial level would facilitate more effective project analysis, monitoring, and evaluation of outcomes.The need to move away from existing traditional and time-consuming methods towards formal online systems and data-driven analytical tools was also emphasized.The current progress and challenges in integrating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s public financial policy were discussed in detail during the meeting.It was also emphasized that such budgeting should not be limited to nominal percentages in documents, but that the need to establish a formal framework and data system to ensure it has a real and practical impact was also highlighted.The Hon.Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemalee Weerasekera, Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Co-Vice Chairpersons of the Caucus, Hon. Members of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella, Attorney at Law and Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Hon. Members of Parliament Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney at Law, Krishnan Kaleichelvi, Sagarika Athauda ,Attorney at Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney at Law, Ambika Samivel and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, along with a group of officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, also participated in the event.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government met recently (Jun. 12) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Prof. A.H.M.H. Abayarathna.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a range of issues and proposals relating to their respective electorates, as well as several other matters of public importance.Hon. Members of Parliament and officials were present at the meeting.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs met recently (Jun. 09) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a number of proposals and issues, including reviewing the progress of discussions initiated with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education and the Department of Examinations regarding the formulation of regulations to prevent the conduct of private tuition classes on Sunday mornings, thereby facilitating the holding of Dhamma School classes on Sundays.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
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