An Open Letter To The President: Be The Adjust!

By Chandra Jayaratne –

Dear Mr. President,

“You should be the change you want to see in the world”

The Sri Lankan Lion roared at the 69^th Session of the UN General Assembly reminding the worldwide neighborhood that “…, in order to achieve the self-assurance and goodwill of the international community as a whole, but a single of the important requirements was consistency of standards across the board with no any perceptions of selectivity or discrimination. It is in this context that the present functioning of the program demands fresh examination in order to boost its credibility. To be productive, this procedure must involve de-politicisation of the UN Technique and mechanisms and they have to cease getting hostage to various types of funding…”

At the exact same time a lion cub on behalf of the Sri Lankan Lion roared in Geneva, stating “…The government of Sri Lanka does not want to support legitamise a flawed procedure and have a detrimental precedent established….What Sri Lanka wants at this juncture is to be encouraged and not impeded….the principled opposition to the OHCHR investigation stems from numerous properly founded issues its politically motivated agenda it challenges the sovereignty and the independence…it violates a basic principle of international law…… by appointment of high level international figures, who are by no indicates ’technical experts relevant to the investigation’ …lack of transparency of the investigation is in clear contravention of the principles of all-natural justice…arbitrary and selective action……deviation from established mandates and processes….addressing accountability problems has to be primarily based on accessible evidence properly sourced and verified…updates replete with accusations and unsubstantiated statistics…”

Are these quite same criticisms not be equally applicable to Sri Lanka and all its people, as well as its businesses and civil society, especially in relation to the internal governance and Executive action within Sri Lanka? If so, will not the prescription of a fresh examination of the current functioning of the system and a de-politicisation of the method and mechanisms of governance not be an essential priority alter in Sri Lanka as nicely?

Who can disregard the priority want for de-politisation of the method assurance that independent persons of integrity, capability and verified track record are at the helm of Public Life, (like in the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary) Public Institutions and Regulatory bodies act with independence and with commitment to principles of natural justice the application of the Rule of law and Justice Systems are transparent, unbiased, fair and just selections to high posts are persons with requisite technical and expert experience sans nepotism and cronyism equality is a right of all citizens and they are not discriminated by race, religion, status, political leaning nor by their voice of advocacy : national resource allocations are fair and equitable and based on priority demands of all citizens state spends are economic, efficient and powerful for goal and not tainted by waste and corruption policy and regulatory systems comply with very best practices and are not impacted by state capture nor corruption deviations from established mandates and processes are transparent and uphold principles of natural justice accountability is demanded from all primarily based on proof statistics are precise and transparent transparent Environmental, Ecological and Social Influence assessments precede all new initiatives legal and regulatory reforms are prioritized and are in accord with principles of organic justice Media Freedoms are not directly or indirectly controlled and Voices of Advocacy are not treated as voices of ‘traitors’ Democratic and Human Rights are protected and International Commitments are upheld:

By way of a “Reflection” it is time to trace back and validate regardless of whether the current history of governance and administration, specifically over the last two years have upheld in Sri Lanka the very very same principles referred to above. An independent view seen by way of a transparent eye of integrity will bring out the numerous deviations and discriminatory practices in governance.

Mr. President, if you had been to concentrate on a series of discriminatory acts of governance targeting a single neighborhood, based on unfair perceptions and unjust accusations, wit related attempts to handle and restrict the freedom of association, activities and expressions of a community, please evaluation the recent actions of the government targeting the NGO Neighborhood. Do these actions and proposed legislative reforms, believed to be championed by the Defense establishment, pass the quite very same principles you and the government articulated before the UN General Assembly and the UNHRC?

Mr. President, in order to gain the confidence and goodwill of the Sri Lankan neighborhood as a entire, accepting that the Sri Lankan Civil Society needs at this juncture to be encouraged and not impeded, please evaluate, in terms of the wonderful philosophy and the words of wisdom of Gauthama the Buddha, which you articulated just before the UN Common Assembly, whether or not the NGO community as a entire, (like Good Governance and Anti Corruption Activists, Human Rights Defenders, Environmentalists as properly as Social Welfare Entities), have been treated relatively, upholding principles of natural justice and with consistency of standards across the board and without having political motives  and perceptions of selectivity or discrimination?

Please also reflect, no matter whether the present and planned actions, circulars and legal and regulatory reforms dealing with NGO’s, pass the tests of just and fairness and are in compliance with international best practices, standards and conventions, and especially whether before enacting laws to need NGO’s:

• to give further information that the Government need to initial enact a law that tends to make Appropriate to Data a binding Governance Commitment on all
• · to have their

1. publicity, advocacy, training and publications, and
2. fund raising and grant receipts, and
3. action plans

to be prior approved by a Government Secretariat, to evaluate whether or not these needs are based on ill conceived advise, misconceptions and are discriminatory and not in line with independence, all-natural justice principles , democratic freedoms and human rights as committed to by the constitution and binding international conventions

• · to demonstrate their independence , integrity of goal and credibility of operations that Efficient, Independent and Credible Public Institutions ( Judicial Services, Public Solutions, Elections, Human Rights, Police Services, Bribery &amp Corruption, Ombudsman, Lawyer Common and Auditor Common) are in location
• · to disclose their strategic plans, budgets, resource allocations and post invest Management Information that the budgeting and budgetary control approach of the government are compliant with the ideal practice benchmark processes advocated by Civil Society Leaders, Organizations and Authorities
• · to demonstrate the cost effectiveness and worth addition of outcomes  of NGO spends the State to agrees that all public spends in excess of agreed amounts will be subject to worth for funds and economy/effectiveness and efficiency post audits, with reports tabled in Parliament ahead of COPA/COPE
• · to disclose assets and remuneration and perks of essential NGO officials, that all Legislators, Executive and Administrative and State and Corporation Officials above a certain agreed grade, to annually declare assets and all remunerations, benefits and perks as well as official expenses and other payments to such officials with disclosures regards their associated party transactions and declarations of conflicts of interests to be publicly disclosed
• · to ensure transparency and accuracy of all reports, data information, accounts and public statements/presentations that all State bodies and regulatory bodies also commit to comparable independence, integrity and transparency, specifically in relation to Socio-economic  and environmental impacts and expense advantages
• · to be subjected to investigative overview and examination of books of account and information of NGO’s to have an independent ombudsman / facilitator who  has accountability to advance the interests of the NGO’s by efficiently progressing any issues difficult the NGO’s or putting  in location safeguards on behalf NGO’s with any Ministry, Department or State/Para state Institutions and willing also to spot any grievances of NGO’s and Untangle any knotty troubles and ease challenges faced by NGO’s and progress complaints or claims ahead of independent public institutions and state parties
• · to have a legislatively imposed binding codes of ethics, conduct, standards in public life  and governance for all Legislators, Executive and Administrative and State and Corporation Officials above a particular agreed grade to be bound by equivalent frameworks, such as binding standards in Public Life eg. Nolan Committee Standards in British Public Life

In the interim the NGO’s as a Grand Collective, must offer you to adopt on a voluntary basis

1. A Code of Conduct for Persons in Public Life
2. Ten Golden Guidelines for Civil Society Organisations
3. Audited Accounts and Annual Reports to be compliant with the Accounting Standards for Not for Profit Organisations
4. Where acceptable and cost effective International Reporting Initiative Standards on Financial and Social Effect and Sustainability Reporting  Standards

Mr. President, please tread the path that Mahatma Gandhi traveled and recollect his popular words of wisdom with time tested universal adaptability, quoted below

&#8220Change oneself.

“You need to be the adjust you want to see in the world.”

“As human beings, our greatness lies not so significantly in becoming in a position to remake the globe – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.”

If you adjust oneself you will change your globe. If you adjust how you feel then you will change how you really feel and what actions you take. And so the globe around you will change. Not only since you are now viewing your atmosphere via new lenses of thoughts and emotions but also since the modify inside can enable you to take action in ways you wouldn’t have – or possibly even have thought about – even though stuck in your old believed patterns.

And the problem with changing your outer globe with out changing yourself is that you will nonetheless be you when you reach that modify you have strived for. You will nonetheless have your flaws, anger, negativity, self-sabotaging tendencies and so on. intact.

And so in this new predicament you will nevertheless not uncover what you hoped for considering that your mind is still seeping with that negative stuff. And if you get far more without having getting some insight into and distance from your ego it might grow far more effective. Considering that your ego loves to divide issues, to discover enemies and to produce separation it might commence to attempt to produce even a lot more difficulties and conflicts in your life and globe.”