Sri Lanka: Peace Negotiations

(asked on 24th February 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government has taken to (a) promote the peace process in Sri Lanka and (b) support the protection of minority Tamil populations in the north of that country.


Answered by
Nigel Adams Portrait
Nigel Adams
This question was answered on 4th March 2020

The British Government has been a longstanding supporter of efforts to deliver inclusive reconciliation and accountability following the conflict in Sri Lanka, which we believe remains critical for long-term peace and stability. We reiterated the importance we attach to these issues in the statement of the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on 27 February. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth also met the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena, on 25 February to press for continued implementation of UNHRC resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1, and to urge the Sri Lankan Government to ensure the protection of Tamil and other minorities in Sri Lanka.

The UK remains committed to supporting peacebuilding, human rights and the rule of law in Sri Lanka for all its communities. Through the British High Commission in Colombo we support land mine clearance, sustainable resettlement and livelihoods amongst displaced communities including in the north of the country, as well as a number of capacity building programmes to strengthen democracy, help deliver security sector reform and modernisation, and support reconciliation.

Reticulating Splines