Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make and what assessment of the welfare of Tamil refugees in Diego Garcia.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are supporting the 89 people escorted to The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) for their safety when their vessel was damaged last year. Their welfare is our top priority. We are working with the group and international partners on options and next steps.
Mentions:
1: Ed Davey (LDEM - Kingston and Surbiton) Since then, we have taken Tamils escaping civil war, Bosnians escaping genocide and Syrians escaping - Speech Link
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will consult Tamil representatives including in Sri Lanka on potential next steps on UN Resolution 46/1 on Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The UK led efforts at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March 2021 to adopt Resolution 46/1. We continue to support engagement between the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Sri Lanka on reconciliation, accountability and human rights.
The Minister for South and Central Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed the importance of these issues with representatives of the Sri Lankan government and wider stakeholders, including representatives of Tamil communities, during his visit to Sri Lanka in January 2022 when he travelled to Jaffna and Trincomalee as well as Colombo.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the report by the International Truth and Justice Project, entitled Sri Lanka: Torture and Sexual Violence by Security Forces 2020-21, published in September 2021, what steps her Department is taking to support the Tamil population of Sri Lanka; and what steps her Department is taking in response to the recommendations for UN member states in that report.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK Government takes very seriously the allegations of torture and sexual violence in the report 'Sri Lanka: Torture and Sexual Violence by Security Forces 2020-2021'.
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. During his visit to Sri Lanka of 18-20 January, he raised serious concerns around the deteriorating human rights situation when he met the President, Foreign Minister, and other members of the Sri Lankan Government. The Foreign Secretary raised the importance of upholding human rights when she met Foreign Minister Peiris on 26 October 2021.
We will continue to support the monitoring of the human rights situation and accountability in Sri Lanka by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as mandated by the UN Human Rights Council resolution 46/1 on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.
Wishing all Tamils across #Crawley happy Pongal celebrations this weekend! https://t.co/YgpVVrms3a
Wishing Tamils across the world including the thousands across Sutton a very happy #ThaiPongal https://t.co/pwqvSr7GOb
Wishing Tamils in the UK and around the world a very Happy Pongal! https://t.co/TbMsIM46ZA
As Chair of the APPG for Tamils, I would like to wish all Tamils in Carshalton and Wallington, as well as across the world, a very happy #ThaiPongal2022. Watch my video below. ? https://t.co/8ykP0UQdyT
Thai Pongal Valthukkal! On behalf of @UKLabour I wish Tamils in the UK and across the world a happy and bountiful Pongal. Labour will always stand by the Tamil people in their pursuit of true peace and justice.