Sri Lanka has expressed strong disapproval of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for its establishment of the Sri Lanka Accountability Project. At the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Himalee Arunatilaka, argued that the OHCHR's initiative exceeds its mandate.

She said that the project contravenes the principles of universality, impartiality, and objectivity outlined in General Assembly Resolution 60-251, which governs the HRC. She criticized the OHCHR for imposing what she described as an “unprecedented external mechanism” on Sri Lanka, despite the country's ongoing cooperation with regular UN human rights mechanisms.

The Sri Lankan envoy contended that the project diverts crucial resources from pressing global issues and undermines the HRC's founding principles by expanding externally driven interventions without the country’s consent. Sri Lanka reaffirmed its opposition to HRC Resolutions 46/1 and 51/1, advocating for support of domestic initiatives and collaboration as a more sustainable approach to human rights and reconciliation.

She also highlighted positive feedback from other countries on Sri Lanka’s domestic efforts and progress in human rights, highlighting the role of the Inter-Ministerial Standing Committee on Human Rights as a key national framework for coordinating human rights commitments.