As chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Tamils and on behalf of Tamils in Carshalton and Wallington, I asked the Minister what steps he is taking to ensure those that perpetrated the atrocities during the Sri Lankan civil war are held accountable.
Specifically, how he and colleagues in the FCDO will ensure that evidence collected satisfies conditions for sanctions against current Sri Lankan officials who are credibly accused of overseeing the enforced disappearance and sexual assault of thousands of Sri Lankan civilians during the conflict.
I was grateful to the Minister for confirming that the UK Government has led international efforts over many years to promote accountability, reconciliation and human rights in Sri Lanka, including at the UN Human Rights Council. The new UK-led resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council in March included, for the first time, a request for the UN “to collect, consolidate, analyse and preserve information and evidence” of human rights abuses and violations so that this can be used to support future accountability processes.
You can watch my question above.
