Sri Lanka: Human Rights

(asked on 15th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation affecting the Muslim community in Sri Lanka.


Answered by
Nigel Adams Portrait
Nigel Adams
This question was answered on 23rd March 2021

The UK Government remains concerned about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, including the issues faced by the Muslim community. This includes the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in the mainstream and digital media in Sri Lanka; a proposal to ban facial coverings and close some madrasas across the country; and the impact on Muslim and other religious communities of the policy of forced cremations of those deceased due to COVID-19, enforced from March 2020 until February 2021.

The Minister for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, set out the UK's concerns in a statement at the UNHRC on 25 February. Lord Ahmad has also raised the importance of minority rights with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister and Sri Lankan High Commissioner, most recently during calls in January and February respectively.

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