Urgent Appeal: Protect Non-Aligned Movement Sovereignty against UNHRC Mandate Overreach

 

Your Excellencies,

 

I write to you as a concerned voice from Sri Lanka — the first nation to be made the testing ground of a dangerous precedent by the UNHRC, one that threatens every country in the Non-Aligned Movement.

 

The Non-Aligned Movement was founded to protect sovereignty and equality of nations. Today, despite NAM representing 74% of the world’s population and 82% of land together with China & Russia, just 20 nations are using Geneva to dictate to us all.

 

Regrettably, some non-governmental organizations with questionable funding have singled out Sri Lanka for relentless targeting. Their selective focus raises a simple question: why Sri Lanka, and who funds campaigns that name Sri Lankan leaders, military personnel & officials as accused without any judicial process, trial or verdict of guilt & without opportunity for defense? This is political targeting, not accountability. If allowed to continue, this pattern will transform the Council into a political kangaroo court & a forum of jungle law bypassing both the UN Charter and the authority of the General Assembly and Security Council.

 

A Dangerous Precedent

 

If the UNHRC is allowed to proceed with mandate overreach — violating the UN Charter with a handful of nations drafting and passing resolutions with the complicity of High Commissioners — the injustice inflicted on Sri Lanka will soon be inflicted on other Non-Aligned States.

 

The UNHRC was created in 2006 under Resolution 60/251. However, while not presenting any resolution against Sri Lanka’s non-state armed group LTTE — banned by 32 nations for its campaign of killings against Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and even an Indian Prime Minister — the Council has, after Sri Lanka ended the 30-year conflict in May 2009, passed successive intrusive, non–conflict-related resolutions and demands.

 

1. 2009 (Special Session) — S-11/2
2. 2012 —A/HRC/RES/19/2 (U.S.-led; accountability/reconciliation)
3. 2013 —A/HRC/RES/22/1 (U.S.-led; follow-up on 2012)
4. 2014 —A/HRC/RES/25/1 (U.S./UK-led; mandated OHCHR investigation “OISL”)
5. 2015 —A/HRC/RES/30/1 (UK-led “consensual roadmap/rollover”)
6. 2017 —A/HRC/RES/34/1 (UK-led rollover)
7. 2019 —A/HRC/RES/40/1 (UK/Canada/Montenegro/N. Macedonia—rollover)
8. 2021 —A/HRC/RES/46/1 (UK-led “evidence preservation”/enhanced monitoring)
9. 2022 —A/HRC/RES/51/1 (UK-led; broadened OHCHR “Sri Lanka Accountability Project”)
10. 2024 — **A/HRC/57/**L.1 (UK/Canada “Core Group” rollover/updates)
11. 2025 —A/HRC/60/21(Report of the High Commissioner – present dangerous precedent)

 

This pattern clearly showcases mandate overreach, UN Charter violations, and intrusion into Sri Lanka’s internal sovereignty.

 

This is exactly the kind of precedent that could threaten all NAM nations if allowed to stand.

 

Within the UNHRC, just 20–25 nations can form a bloc and weaponize Geneva to name, shame, and sanction leaders of any NAM country that defends its sovereignty, fights terrorism, separatism, insurgency, or protects national security.

 

The Power of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

We must remember who we are:

• 120-member states, NAM representstwo-thirds of the United Nations membership.
• With a combined population of4 billion people — about 55% of humanity — NAM is the majority voice of the world.
• NAM countries control95 million km² of land — about 64% of Earth’s land area.
• Our economies together contribute~$23 trillion in GDP (nominal), or ~$65 trillion in PPP terms — a growing force in the global economy.

 

Contrast with the Resolution Sponsors

 

The initial resolutions against Sri Lanka were driven largely by the United States — a nation of immense economic weight, with a GDP of nearly $29 trillion. Yet even Washington has since withdrawn from the Human Rights Council, calling it a “cesspool of political bias”, distancing itself from the very process it once championed.

 

What remains is a small circle of Western states — the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and a handful of others in Europe and Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand).

 

Without the US/Canada/Australia, the Western bloc shrinks to:

• 4% of the world’s land
• 4–5% of the world’s population
• 15–18% of global GDP

With the US included, the Western bloc totals:

• 19% of landmass
• 9% of population
• ~47% of world GDP

This bloc represents neither the majority of peoples nor the moral compass of our age. Collectively, they are a minority of nations — wealthy but isolated.

 

Global Balance of Power: NAM and its Strategic Partners

The imbalance is further exposed when one considers that, while the Western bloc relies on a handful of non-Western allies to inflate its voice, the Non-Aligned Movement is supported on principle by China and Russia — two permanent members of the UN Security Council who consistently resist Western unilateralism.

 

China and Russia combined:

• Population:56 billion
• Landmass:7 million km²
• GDP:~$23 trillion nominal (≈$43 trillion PPP)

 

NAM + China + Russia together:

• Population:~6.3 billion (≈74% of the world)
• Landmass:~122 million km² (≈82% of the world)
• GDP:~$46 trillion nominal (≈$100 trillion PPP)

This is the overwhelming global majority — in population, geography, and economic weight.

 

A Call to Unity

 

Your Excellencies,

The time has come to remember the founding principles of Bandung and Belgrade: non-alignment, sovereignty, equality, and resistance to neo-colonial interference.

 

• If Sri Lanka’s precedent stands, tomorrow any NAM nation could be in the dock.
• If NAM remains silent, the principle of presumption of innocence will be replaced by trial by resolution & kangaroo courts.
• If NAM speaks with one voice, however, this experiment will end here.

Sri Lanka appeals not for sympathy, but for solidarity.

What is at stake is not just my country, but the future of all Non-Aligned States.

 

Together, we represent the majority of the world’s population, the majority of the United Nations, and an ever-growing share of the global economy. Together, we can demand adherence to the UN Charter, the equality of sovereign nations, and a return to fairness and legality in multilateral processes.

Let us unite & not allow UNHRC to weaponize human rights beyond its original mandate.

 

Today it is Sri Lanka. Tomorrow it may be your Nation.

But united, no NAM country will ever stand alone.

 

 

 

Respectfully,
Shenali D Waduge

Sri Lankan Analyst, and Advocate for National Sovereignty