Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of returning failed asylum seekers to Sri Lanka on the ability of the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights to investigate violations of human rights in that country; and if she will make a statement.

The Government does not believe that returning unsuccessful asylum applicants to Sri Lanka impacts on the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights ability to investigate human rights abuses in that country. As with any other nationality, all asylum and human rights applications from Sri Lankan nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and against the background of the latest available country of origin information from a wide range of well-recognised sources. The Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights is entitled to speak to any returnees as well as other individuals, if they chose to do so. Likewise, a decision to co-operate or not should be the choice of the person concerned. The fact that they may have made an unsuccessful asylum application in the UK – or anywhere else – does not affect this process.