Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Prime Minister, as Chair in Office of the Commonwealth, has had with the Commonwealth Secretariat on the need for a Commonwealth good offices initiative to Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister, as Commonwealth Chair-in-Office, has not held discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat on a Commonwealth good offices initiative to Sri Lanka, but we are monitoring the situation in Sri Lanka closely. Respect for human rights, democracy and good governance are fundamental tenets of the Commonwealth Charter, and we encourage all member states to uphold those shared commitments.

The UK is also a member of the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and has long supported Sri Lanka's commitments under UNHRC resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1 on accountability, justice and reconciliation following the Sri Lankan civil war.