Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times his Department has officially discussed with its counterpart in Sri Lanka the repeal of Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act and reports of potential ongoing torture in that country.

The UK Government remains concerned at the ongoing use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and for many years has called on the Government of Sri Lanka to replace the PTA with human rights compliant counter terrorism legislation. The UK Government, alongside our partners in the Core Group on Sri Lanka, has led international efforts to promote accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, including at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). On 23 March the UNHRC adopted a new UK-led resolution, 46/1, which calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to review the PTA. The resolution also expresses concern at the use of torture and inhuman treatment. We have highlighted our concerns about the PTA if this is the case in a statement to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on 22 June. The Minister of State for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, has raised human rights on several occasions with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, G. L. Peiris, most recently during talks on 10 May and 9 September. The UK's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka regularly raises the importance of PTA legislation being aligned with international human rights obligations with the Government of Sri Lanka. We continue to engage with the Government of Sri Lanka on these important issues.