Abstract

This thesis is an extended position paper and explores how India interacts with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) through its diplomatic work for Sri Lanka which uses post-colonial sovereignty and human rights international relations as its theoretical foundation. The study examines India’s voting habits and diplomat-ic remarks and official stances on UNHRC resolutions about Sri Lanka from the peri-od after the civil war concluded in 2009. The thesis uses qualitative research meth-ods to study UNHRC documents and existing literature about post-colonial interna-tional relations and human rights governance to demonstrate that India operates as a strategic power which supports international human rights norms while resisting foreign involvement in its internal matters. The research shows that India uses post-colonial sovereignty concepts and regional political factors and its need for strategic independence to control its UNHRC diplomatic activities. …víceméně