BCIS honours two Lankan stalwarts in International Relations field

The Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) will be honouring late Ambassador Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala for his invaluable contribution to diplomacy and his unwavering commitment to the promotion and safeguarding of Sri Lanka’s national interest, at the convocation of its International Relations Programme 2023 to be held at the BMICH, Colombo, today.

A BCIS press release said: ‘Ambassador Dhanapala’s career in national and international service spanned over half a century as he labored to ensure a safer world for all, even after retirement.

‘He excelled as a diplomat, contributing tangibly to both international norm- setting as well as to nurturing compliant state practice, which encompassed an array of fields, ranging from disarmament to good governance and from human rights to humanitarian affairs. This constructive binary was a striking feature in all of his work—whether it related to his high-profile ambassadorial duties on behalf of Sri Lanka or at a broader level, with issues of global concern at the United Nations, where he rose to the level of an Under Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs.

‘Jayantha Dhanapala was also a great advocate of negotiated outcomes—ideally, consensual ones. He relentlessly strove to bring about such negotiated outcomes in his diplomatic and policy efforts both nationally and internationally. This was also consistent with the reputation of Sri Lanka then, as a valued consensus builder in multilateral diplomacy.

One example of such a negotiated outcome, subsequent to the Law of the Seas success of the 1980s, was the extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) at the UN conference of 1995, which remains the only consensus to date on this controversial issue.

‘Ambassador Dhanapala received many accolades and awards for his work, which are too numerous to mention here. And on retirement, he provided leadership and guidance to many prestigious international entities such as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (Pugwash) and the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN) as well as to national ones like Sri Lanka Unites and the Friday Forum.

‘This posthumous honour is conferred on the late Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala in appreciation of his multifaceted contribution to the praxis of International Relations and his unparalleled commitment to global peace and disarmament.

‘The Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS), will also honour Ambassador H.M.G.S. Palihakkara in recognition of his significant contribution to the public service of Sri Lanka in a career spanning 38 years at the convocation 2023.

‘In his long and splendid diplomatic career, Ambassador Palihakkara was Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s (2004-2006), Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN (2008-2009) and Ambassador to Thailand accredited concurrently to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam whilst also serving as Sri Lanka’s Permanent Represetative to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (2001-2004). Ambassador Palihakkara has functioned as the Chairman of several UN entities including those of the Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament and International Security, Indian Ocean Peace Zone (IOPZ) and Israeli Practices in Palestine.

‘Earlier on (1996), he functioned as the Director General of Multilateral Affairs in the Foreign Ministry focusing, inter alia, on work relating to preventive diplomacy, peace building, arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation.

‘Consequent to his retirement from the Foreign Service, he was appointed a member of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission by the President of Sri Lanka in 2010 and he was appointed as Governor of the Northern Province (2015-2016).

‘Ambassador Palihakkara has given of his knowledge and experience in the spheres of foreign policy, international affairs, peace, security and strategic studies to students and researchers alike of these subject areas as a Visiting Lecturer at several national and regional institutions including the BCIS, the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) and the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International and Strategic Studies (LKISS).’