New Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka Presents Credentials

(Based on information received from the Protocol and Liaison Service)

The new Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, Amrith Rohan Perera, presented his credentials to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today.

Now retired from the Sri Lankan Government, Mr. Perera had a career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spanning more than 30 years.  He served a number of functions including, most recently, Legal Advisor.

After his retirement in 2007, Mr. Perera continued to serve the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an advisory capacity on matters pertaining to international legal affairs.

Since 2009, he has served as Consultant to the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Until 2011, Mr. Perera served as a member of the International Law Commission, having been elected by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007.  At its sixty-third session, Mr. Perera was elected as General Rapporteur by the Commission.  He also chairs the United Nations Ad-hoc Committee on Measures to Eliminate Terrorism.

In addition, Mr. Perera was recently elected Chairperson of the Eminent Persons Group constituted to advise the Secretary-General on the future work programme of the Asian African Legal Consultative Organization.

Mr. Perera holds a Doctorate of Philosophy of Law from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, a postgraduate diploma in International Law and Development from the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague.

Born in 1947, he is married with two children.