Ceylon Establishes Permanent Mission to the UN

Features in many United Nations agencies

There was a sense in the early days of Ceylon’s interlocution with the UN that the newly independent island nation was not nearly as ready to join the mainstream of countries that were already members of the UN as either party would have liked or desired.

For one, there was stiff resistance from the Soviet bloc as a result of the former Crown Colony’s continuing dalliance with Her Majesty’s Government. And for another, even had the Dominion of Ceylon been able, ready and willing to aspire to and achieve full membership, the administrative nous of its bureaucracy left something to be desired.

Good things come to those who wait however, as well as work towards them with single-minded determination. And so it was that the year 1955 saw the desired result eventuate.

It was an outcome that was consolidated only 10 years later though, when Ceylon’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva was established in June of 1965.

Today, the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN continues to represent the country’s national interest in global affairs through its participation in specialised agencies and instrumentalities such as the Conference on Disarmament (CD) and United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), where it has featured prominently so to speak over the decade immediately past.

Ironically, the island nation’s admission to other international and UN organisations based in Geneva antedated the setting up of its permanent mission by decades.

It gained membership in the International Telegraph Union in 1897, which became the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 1933; World Health Organization (WHO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) – both in 1948; Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Universal Postal Union (UPU) a year later; and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1951.

After admission to UN ranks per se, Ceylon joined the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1959, and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1964.

Sri Lanka has also chaired the Group of 15 (G-15), which is a summit level assembly of developing countries, as well as been part of the Colombo Process – a regional consultation on employment and migration originating in Asia.

It was an outcome that was consolidated only 10 years later though, when Ceylon’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva was established in June of 1965