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 implications for his policies of the purported persecution of the Tamil population in northern Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is a UK human rights priority country. The UK has led, with the Core Group on Sri Lanka, international efforts to promote human rights for all communities, including through UNHRC resolution 51/1. We recommended addressing issues around the expropriation of land in the North and East during Sri Lanka's Universal Periodic Review. The UK encourages establishment of a meaningful Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Whilst visiting Sri Lanka from 10-13 October I raised issues over progress on human rights and accountability mechanisms with the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). We welcome the GoSL commitment to address longstanding grievances of minority communities through the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.