“Sri Lanka should focus on ethical investors - Cherie Blair”, 30 Aug 2015

Human rights is not the business of the government anymore, but it is the business of business. Economic development is not about the improvement of statistics and indicators, but about people and their aspirations, quality of life and reaching greater heights, Cherie Blair, leading international barrister and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, told a seminar on ‘Human Rights and Business’ organized by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka…

“Recent political developments, such as President Sirisena’s election commitment to tackle corruption and protect human rights will have potentially far reaching and great impact on the level and diversity of foreign investments in Sri Lanka,” Blair said…

Today, ethical investors look for long-term prospects and they are the type that Sri Lanka should attempt to attract…Investors prefer sustainable investments rather than a lucrative business which gets rocked by human rights violations or corruption. The government has the responsibility to create a level-playing field where unethical companies cannot undercut ethical ones…