Chongqing - On May 9, Global Epidemic Prevention &Control and Human Rights Protection International Conference Series I: Guarantee of the Right to Life in Epidemic Prevention & Control was held in Human Rights Institute, Southwest University of Political Science and Law. As the guest overseas, Jayanath Colombage, Director of Pathfinder Foundation of Sri Lanka Centre for Indo-Lankan Initiative and Law of the Sea, delivered his speech on the webinar, to talk about the human rights and right to life during COVID-19 pandemic.
Firstly, Mr. Colombage expressed his appreciation on China's donation to Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka took strict methods to the pandemic, and the curve of confirmed cases has been flattened.
Sri Lanka now (May 9, 15:00, Beijing Time) has 835 COVID-19 confirmed cases and 9 deaths. The local government started the epidemic prevention and control in January. It locked confirmed cases for epidemiological investigation. “China has vigorously supported us in three aspects, Alibaba’s Ma Yun, donations from Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing sent medical supplies to the Sri Lankan consulate. We are very grateful to China for its assistance. In the face of the right to life, there may be a sacrifice in freedom, but the Sri Lankan people finally expressed their understanding that life is a priority”, he said.
One of Sri Lanka ’s great characteristics is that it has been taken very seriously from the beginning, and the measures taken are very decisive and strict, so it will have such a result. In addition to international cooperation, “I am glad to hear that China's cooperation and assistance with Sri Lanka have also played a role. As a developing country, I think there may be a common feature. Our fear of disasters and the plague may exceed that of developed countries. Because the medical conditions for developed countries to deal with disasters are relatively developed, they may be more confident, but for developing countries, they are more sensitive to such disasters”, Colombage indicated. Professor He Zhipeng also mentioned the preventive problem, which is “when people don’t know enough, they would rather think more seriously and take better and more proactive preventive measures”, that’s how Sri Lanka response to the pandemic, he introduced.