Prasad Kariyawasam is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n diplomat and the former Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the top diplomat in Sri Lanka. He was the International Affairs Adviser to Hon. Karu Jayasooriya, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.He was the former

Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States The Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States is the Sri Lankan envoy to United States. The Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States is concurrently accredited as Ambassador to Mexico. The Sri Lankan embassy opened on 29 October 1948 and also ...

. with concurrent accreditation as High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to Trinidad & Tobago and Ambassador (designate) to Mexico. He was also the Permanent Observer of Sri Lanka to the Washington-based

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

(OAS).He has also served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to India,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

Early life

Kariyawasam was born on 21 March 1954 in

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

, southern

. He was educated at Richmond College

and he captained the college Cricket team in 1972. Also he skippered the Southern Province Schools cricket team and played for All Ceylon Schools Combined team. During his school cricket career, Prasad Kariyawasam scored five centuries. Kariyawasam was also a Queen's Boy Scout and was the Scout Troop leader at Richmond in 1968. He had represented Sri Lanka at the 9th

Australian Scout Jamboree The Australian Scout Jamboree is a jamboree which is held every three years by Scouts Australia. The Jamboree is traditionally held in early January and typically runs for ten nights. The first, in 1934, was held in Frankston, Victoria and was ...

held in Sydney in 1969. He entered the

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka ...

and obtained a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Special Degree in Mathematics in 1978. In University he was elected President of the Science Students' Union in 1977. Also, he was also elected President of the University Sport Council in 1978 and Treasurer of the All University Students' Council in 1977. At university he played cricket and captained the University cricket team in 1977–78, in Division I, Sara trophy. He was awarded the Most Outstanding University Sportsmen of the Year, in 1978. While playing for the university, in 1978, Kariyawasam was selected to represent the Sri Lanka Board President's XI against the visiting Derrick Robins XI. In that match, Kariyawasam had figures of 3 for 22, including the prize wicket of David Gower, who went on to captain England. Kariyawasam is married and has two children.

Diplomatic career

Kariyawasam joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1981 and has served as a diplomat in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

twice (1983–1987, 2001–2004),

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

(1989–1992),

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

(1995–1998),

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

twice (1998–2001, 2009) and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

(2005–2008). In his previous assignment in New Delhi, he served as the Deputy High Commissioner. In Geneva, he served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, while holding the positions of the Consul General of Sri Lanka to Switzerland, Personal Representative of the Head of State of Sri Lanka to the G-15 and concurrently accredited Ambassador of Sri Lanka to

the Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic see, apostolic episcopal see of the ...

. In New York, he served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and was concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, as well as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. He also held the position of Director General of the Economic Affairs Division and served as an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

United Nations

Rights of Migrant Workers

Ambassador Kariyasawam was the President of the Council of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the years 2001-2002. He was the first Chairperson of the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) and held this post until 2008, during the initial formative stages of the Committee, leading the evolution and consolidation of its working methods and procedures, as well as the advocacy of the Convention. Ambassador Kariyasawam was the Chair of the Meetings of the Chairpersons of Human Rights Treaty Bodies and Inter-Committee Meetings for the year 2004.

Appointments

*Alternate Representative of Sri Lanka at the 53rd, 54th and 55th Sessions of the UN Commission for Human Rights (CHR) held in Geneva. *At the World Conference against Racism held in Durban in 2001, he was elected Vice-Chair of the Main Committee. *He was the elected chairperson of

United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families is a United Nations multilateral treaty governing the protection of migrant workers and families. Signed on 18 December 1990, it en ...

, 2003–2008. *Elected Chair of the 2004 Sessions of the Chairpersons of Human Rights Treaty Bodies and Inter Committee Meetings. *Chairperson of the United Nations Special Committee Investigating Israel Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestine People and other Arabs in the Occupied Territories 2005–2008. *Member of the United Nations Panel of Experts on Small Arms, which produced a report on the subject to the UN General Assembly, in 1997. *Represented the UN Group of Government Experts on the Relationship between Disarmament and Development, in 2004. * Presided over the UN Conference to Review the Progress in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trade in Small and Light Weapons in all its aspects. New York July 2006. *Vice-Chairperson of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in 2006. *Vice-President of the UN General Assembly for the years 2007–2008. *President of the Council of the International Organization for Migration in 2001–2002 at its 50th anniversary session. *Represented Sri Lanka at the annual session of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

held in

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...

in 2002. * Represented the Advisory Board of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. * Leader of Sri Lankan delegation in Ministerial Conference of the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES).

External links

Biography of Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kariyawasam, Prasad Sinhalese civil servants Sri Lankan diplomats 1954 births Alumni of Richmond College, Galle Living people Sri Lankan Buddhists Permanent Representatives of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to the Holy See High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to Jamaica High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to the Bahamas Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Chile Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Colombia Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Bhutan Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Afghanistan Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to the United States