Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report by Yasmin Sooka and Frances Harrison, entitled Sri Lanka: Torture and Sexual Violence by Security Forces 2020-2021, published in September 2021; and what representations she has made to her counterparts in Sri Lanka on systematic torture and sexual violence perpetuated by security forces in that country.

The UK Government notes the report entitled Sri Lanka: Torture and Sexual Violence by Security Forces 2020-2021 and is concerned by the allegations contained within it. The UK takes allegations of torture and sexual violence very seriously, and we continue to push the government of Sri Lanka to take action on accountability for violations committed during and after the conflict, including crimes of sexual violence, as part of wider engagement on transitional justice. This is through the UK-led resolution UN Human Rights Council resolution 46/1 on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka. The resolution also expresses concern at alleged torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

The Minister for South Asia Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon has raised the importance of these issues on several occasions with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner and the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris, most recently during calls on 10 May and 24 September respectively. The Foreign Secretary raised the importance of upholding human rights when she met with Foreign Minister Peiris on 26 October. We will continue to press for a strong role for the UNHRC to help deliver accountability and reconciliation and ensure the protection of human rights in Sri Lanka.