Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the expiry of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 40/1 in March 2021, what steps the Government, in its role as leader of the Core Group on Sri Lanka, plans to take at the forthcoming UN Human Rights Council session in March 2021 to renew the international focus on impunity for human rights violations and attacks on the rule of law in Sri Lanka.

The UK has long supported efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, including in our role as penholder on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). We firmly believe that UNHRC resolution 30/1, and its successor resolutions 34/1 and 40/1, remain the best framework for establishing truth and achieving justice and lasting reconciliation following the conflict in Sri Lanka. We continue to encourage and support Sri Lanka to deliver on the commitments it made to the UNHRC through these resolutions.

We are concerned about the Government of Sri Lanka's decision to withdraw support for the UN resolution, and have made this clear in statements delivered on behalf of the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in February, June and September. These statements reiterated our ongoing commitment to justice and accountability for victims of conflict and human rights violations, and to lasting reconciliation. The Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth and Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised these concerns on several occasions with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, most recently during calls on 4 and 5 November respectively. The Foreign Secretary also underlined the importance of accountability and reconciliation when he spoke to Foreign Minister Gunawardena in May.

Ahead of the March 2021 session of the UNHRC, we will continue to engage with the Government of Sri Lanka to underline the importance we attach to this issue. We will also continue to work with our international partners and with the HRC on how best to take forward this longstanding priority for the UK.