Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart on the status of Tamil people.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK remains firmly committed to the full implementation of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 34/1, under which Sri Lanka committed to implement a range of measures to provide for human rights, truth-seeking and reconciliation following the end of its civil war. I encouraged Foreign Minister Marapana, officials and others to continue to make progress on these commitments when I visited Colombo in the first week of October 2018. Our High Commission in Sri Lanka regularly travel to the North and East and meet with local groups, and where we have specific human rights concerns we raise these with the Sri Lankan government.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Deputy General of the Commonwealth on the status of Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Mark Field
We have not recently discussed the status of Tamil people in Sri Lanka with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth. However, we welcomed her visit to Colombo in August, during which she offered Commonwealth support on good governance and accountability.
The UK is committed to supporting human rights and reconciliation for all Sri Lankans. While we welcome some recent progress against its UN Human Rights Council commitments, more remains to be done. I visited Colombo in October where I urged the government to make more progress, including towards the establishment of transitional justice and accountability mechanisms; devolution through constitutional reform; and the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act. I also met Tamil National Alliance leader and human rights and civil society activists. In August we announced £1 million of extra UK funding to support resettlement of war-displaced families in the predominantly Tamil north and east. Total UK funding is now £7.9 million for 2016-2019.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the President of Sri Lanka on the security of Tamil communities in that country.
Answered by Mark Field
I have not had recent discussions with President Sirisena. However, in my visit to Colombo in early October I encouraged Foreign Minister Marapana, officials and others to continue to make progress on Sri Lanka's human rights and reconciliation commitments when I visited Colombo in October 2018.
Our High Commissioner met with President Sirisena on 1 November to raise our concerns at recent political developments.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the Sri Lankan Government abides by the Oslo Declaration of 2002.
Answered by Mark Field
The Oslo Declaration followed the conclusion of the third session of peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE leadership in 2002. Regrettably the ceasefire failed and several more years of civil war followed the declaration, finally ending in 2009.
The UK supports the full implementation of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 34/1 as the best way to secure lasting peace and reconciliation, including devolution of political authority and respect for the human rights of all Sri Lankans.
Asked by: Grant Shapps (Conservative - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to uphold the human rights of the Tamil people and to support the establishment of democratically accountable institutions in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK is committed to the full implementation of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 34/1, under which Sri Lanka committed to implement a range of measures to provide for human rights, truth-seeking, reconciliation, and devolution of political powers following the end of its civil war. I encouraged Foreign Minister Marapana to continue to make progress on these commitments when I met him last October in Colombo. Our High Commissioner in Sri Lanka regularly travel to the North and East and I joined him in Jaffna during my most recent visit to meet with Tamil groups, and where we have specific human rights concerns we raise these with the Sri Lankan government.
The UK is also providing Sri Lanka with £6.6 million of Conflict, Stability and Security Fund funding over three years, to include support for police reform and training, reconciliation and peace building, and demining in the north of the country.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the government of Sri Lanka on the persecution of Tamil people in that country; and if he will call for an international investigation into that persecution.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Sri Lankan government has taken a number of positive steps to improve the human rights situation in that country, but we recognise that there remains much to be done. In our statement to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in June we set out the areas we felt were important for Sri Lanka to focus on. These included further land returns in the north of the island, the repealing of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the devolution of political authority through constitutional reform and the creation of credible justice mechanisms. I most recently raised Tamil issues with Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister in September. We will continue to work with the UN, Sri Lanka and our other international partners to ensure full implementation of UNHRC resolution 30/1, co-sponsored by the UK in October 2015, while recognising the scale of the challenge this represents and allowing time for credible, well thought out transitional justice mechanisms to be developed and implemented.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on official discrimination against Tamils in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
We recognise that more progress needs to be made on Tamil concerns as part of broader reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
President Sirisena has committed to introduce reforms to address inequalities faced by minority communities. These reforms are intended to improve access to education in Tamil; provide relief to displaced people; establish a democratic civil administration in the North and East; put a stop to racial and religious hatred; and to promote reconciliation between communities.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political rights of and economic opportunities for Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Lord Swire
The election of President Sirisena represents an opportunity for Sri Lanka to grow as a stable prosperous and inclusive country, reflecting the wishes of all of its people. The President’s 100 day programme and manifesto includes social, economic, educational and governance commitments that should benefit Tamil people. These include better access to education in the Tamil language; relief to displaced people; a democratic civil administration in the North and South of the island; bringing an end to racial and religious hatred; and, steps to promote reconciliation between communities.
We will be following the implementation of President Sirisena’s commitments closely, and stand ready to support Sri Lanka’s path to long term reconciliation.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department consults the Foreign and Commonwealth Office when determining the veracity of claims of torture by asylum applicants from Sri Lanka; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Brokenshire
We recognise that there are credible reports of torture, ill-treatment and sexual violence perpetrated by the security forces in the aftermath of the
civil war. The Home Office's consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office varies from case to case. However, we are in regular discussions about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka more generally and the information provided is reflected in the Home Office’s published country information and guidance report(s) which are publicly available.
All asylum claims made by those from Sri Lanka continue to be carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the 1951 Refugee Convention, the European Convention on Human Rights and against the background of the latest country information and relevant caselaw – including a Court of Appeal judgment from 18 June 2014 which found that not everyone, including all Tamils, are at risk on return to Sri Lanka.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of reports that Tamils deported to Sri Lanka have been subjected to torture and sexual abuse.
Answered by Lord Swire
This Government fully complies with all of its international obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights. The Home Office assesses each asylum and human rights claim case carefully on its individual merits, taking full account of the latest available country information, case law and UNHCR Eligibility Guidelines for Assessing the Internal Protection Needs of Asylum Seekers. Individuals who face a risk of ill treatment, including torture, on return to Sri Lanka will be granted international protection, and would not be returned. The British Government is aware of cases of torture happens in Sri Lanka and we regularly raise it with the Sri Lankan authorities.