Committee on Migrant Workers - Meeting of States Parties

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA OF THE NOMINEES, AS FURNISHED BY THE STATES PARTIES CONCERNED

Mr. Prasad KARIYAWASAM ( Sri Lanka )

Date and place of birth: 21 March 1954 , Galle , Sri Lanka

Working languages: English

Current position/function:

- Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York .

- Ambassador of Sri Lanka concurrently accredited to Chile , Colombia , Peru , Jamaica and Venezuela

- Chairperson of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

- Chairperson of the United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israel Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestine People and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.

Main professional activities:

- Career Diplomat i n the Sri Lanka Foreign Service and at present Permanent Representative of Sri

Lanka to the United Nations.

- Conduct consular functions on behalf of Sri Lanka in the States of New York, Connecticut and

New Jersey in the U.S.A.

- Represent Sri Lanka in Chile , Colombia , Peru , Jamaica and Venezuela as the Ambassador accredited to those countries.

- Represent the interest of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families and the United Nations Special Committee to Investigate Israel Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestine People and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories .

Educational background:

- Bachelor of Science, University of Peradeniya , Sri Lanka

Other main activities in the field relevant to the mandate of the treaty body concerned :

- Vice Chairperson of the 59 th session of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR); Alternate

Representative of Sri Lanka to the CHR at 53 rd , 54 th and 55 th Session of the CHR and leader of the Sri Lanka delegation to the CHR at 57 th, 58 th and 59 th Sessions.

- President of the Council of International Organization for Migration (OIM) for the year 2001/2002.

- Representative of Sri Lanka at the United Nations Compensation Commission from 2001 to 2003 seeking compensation for Sri Lankan migrant workers.

- Chairperson of the UNCTAD Expert Group on Market Access Issues in Mode 4 (Movement of Natural Persons to Supply Services) in the year 2002.

- The first Chairperson of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

- Chairperson of the 2004 Session of the Chairs of Human Rights Treaty Bodies and the Chair of the Inter-Committee meeting of the Human Rights Treaty Bodies same year.