Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against the Tamil community in Sri Lanka are brought to justice in the International Criminal Court.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Sri Lanka is a human rights priority country for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Our assessment is that an International Criminal Court (ICC) referral would not have the required support from members of the UN Security Council. It would not advance the cause of accountability for an ICC referral to fail to win Security Council support or to be vetoed.
We, alongside our partners in the Core Group on Sri Lanka, have led international efforts over many years to promote accountability, reconciliation and human rights in Sri Lanka. On 23 March 2021 the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted resolution 46/1, which provides a continued framework for international engagement on human rights. It calls on the government of Sri Lanka to make progress on human rights and stresses the importance of a comprehensive accountability process for all violations and abuses committed in Sri Lanka. The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, visited Sri Lanka in January 2022. He travelled to the North and East as well as Colombo and met a range of civil society groups, including Tamil representatives, to discuss human rights. The Minister also urged the Government of Sri Lanka to take steps to deliver justice and accountability.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of recent attacks against the Tamil community in Sri Lanka; and whether she has considered imposing sanctions on that country in response to those attacks.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK Government regularly engages with the Sri Lankan Government on a range of issues, including human rights concerns such as the targeting and marginalisation of minority groups. We closely monitor the human rights situation, including developments in the North and East, through regular engagement with regional civil society and political representatives. The Minister for South Asia, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has strongly condemned violence against peaceful protesters in Sri Lanka. He has reiterated fundamental rights, including the right to peaceful protest, must be protected.
Sanctions are one response among a number of diplomatic tools we can deploy around the world as part of a broader political strategy in order to change or send a political signal regarding particular behaviours. The Global Human Rights sanctions regime was introduced in July 2020, and gives the UK a powerful tool to hold to account those involved in serious human rights violations. We keep all evidence and potential listings under close review. It would not be appropriate to speculate about future designations under the sanctions regime as to do so could reduce their impact. We will continue to consider a range of approaches to tackle serious human rights violations and abuses around the world.
Jul. 13 2023
Source Page: Human Rights and Democracy Report 2022Found: disrupt Tamil commemorative events for victims of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict, and arbitrarily accused Tamils
Mentions:
1: Bob Blackman (CON - Harrow East) To date, none of those responsible for the murder of Tamils or their disappearing has been brought to - Speech Link
This ? Genocide still happens in the 21st Century. Today we remember Tamils Murdered in Sri Lanka. #restinpeace #Mullivaikkal https://t.co/1xhaKnyQBV
Happy Puthandu to all Tamils celebrating across the world
Mentions:
1: Ed Davey (LDEM - Kingston and Surbiton) Since then, we have taken Tamils escaping civil war, Bosnians escaping genocide and Syrians escaping - Speech Link
Found: human rights abuses and corruption 19 Commons Library Debate Pack , 15 July 2022 5 PQs Sri Lanka: Tamils
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will consult Tamil representatives including in Sri Lanka on potential next steps on UN Resolution 46/1 on Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK led efforts at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March 2021 to adopt Resolution 46/1. We continue to support engagement between the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Sri Lanka on reconciliation, accountability and human rights.
The Minister for South and Central Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed the importance of these issues with representatives of the Sri Lankan government and wider stakeholders, including representatives of Tamil communities, during his visit to Sri Lanka in January 2022 when he travelled to Jaffna and Trincomalee as well as Colombo.