Sri Lanka’s envoy urges UN call on British monarchy - paper

[TamilNet, Saturday, 14 June 2008, 23:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council raised concerns over Britain’s monarchy, leading to the HRC stating in its report that the UK must "consider holding a referendum on the desirability or otherwise of a written constitution, preferably republican” according to British press reports Saturday.

The UN comments about the Queen were included at the request of the council’s Sri Lankan envoy, Dayan Jayatilleka, the Daily Telegraph and Daily Express newspapers reported.

The monarchy costs each adult in Britain around 62p a year but even groups representing taxpayers said there was no case for getting rid of it.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance in Britain, told the Telegraph: "With so many human rights abuses around the world the UN should be busy reporting on issues of starvation, execution and the denial of the vote to huge numbers of people around the world.”