Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her Sri Lankan counterpart regarding recent reports of unlawful violence being perpetrated by police authorities against civilians in Sri Lanka.

The UK Government is concerned by recent reports of violence during protests in Sri Lanka and encourages all sides to find a peaceful, democratic and inclusive approach to resolve Sri Lanka's political and economic challenges.

The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has urged for the right to protest peacefully to be protected and for violence to cease.

The UK High Commissioner to Sri Lanka met the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on 20 April. The High Commissioner has called for an independent and transparent investigation into the loss of life during protests in Rambukkana on 19 April.

We regularly discuss our concerns about human rights with the Government of Sri Lanka. Lord Ahmad raised the need to improve human rights and deliver justice and accountability with the Sri Lankan President and Foreign Minister when he visited Sri Lanka. The Foreign Secretary raised the importance of upholding human rights when she met Foreign Minister Peiris.