Foreign Ministry Fumbles Playing Cheap Media Games With Damning And Confidential UN Report In an unprecedented move, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has openly leaked a version of a scathing report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights sent confidentially to the Government of Sri Lanka for comments ahead of its release just before the 46th Session of the Human Rights Council Session in Geneva, Switzerland. Michelle Bachelet, the HCHR transferred her ‘draft’ report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka to the government on 12 January 2021 for comments on any errors in fact or law. The High Commissioner is mandated by a Human Rights Council Resolution in 2017 to report on the progress made by Sri Lanka on post war reconciliation efforts. Customarily, the High Commissioner schedules the release of country reports just ahead of the UNHRC Session. It is usual diplomatic practice and courtesy to send such draft reports to the country concerned to provide an opportunity for the concerned state to address and point out errors in facts or law. Never before has the confidential copy released to the Government of Sri Lanka been leaked to the media by a ruling administration. It was unheard of even during the tenure of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who had his own battles with the UNHRC and the High Commissioners for Human Rights, diplomatic sources who were part of the process during that time told Colombo Telegraph. The move could seriously jeopardise an already highly tenuous relationship between the Sri Lankan Government and the United Nations, the diplomats warned.