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  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2015 to Question 16355, how his Department monitors the situation of detainees in Sri Lanka held under its Prevention of Terrorism Act 1978.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The British High Commission in Colombo is in regular contact with government officials, Tamil National Alliance MPs, and civil society representatives about the situation of detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. We also work on this issue with other diplomatic missions, the EU and UN bodies.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what further steps he intends to take to encourage the Sri Lankan authorities to review the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1978.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I visited Sri Lanka from 14 to 17 January when I discussed a wide range of issues with the government of Sri Lanka, including the need for it to fulfil its commitment to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Officials at the British High Commission in Colombo will continue to encourage progress. We are also working closely with our international partners to encourage the government to address this concern. The EU issue was raised during the EU-Sri Lanka Human Rights Working Group discussions in Colombo on 19 to 22 January.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the steps the government of Sri Lanka has taken to return land currently controlled by the military to civilians.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Since President Sirisena came to power in January 2015, there have been welcome moves to return some military occupied private land to civilians. However, much remains to be done.

    We continue to encourage further land returns, a process the UK is contributing to through our support for demining in the north of the country. During my visit to Sri Lanka on 14 to 17 January I met with resettled families in the north seeing for myself the progress that has been made as well as the challenges that remain.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the steps the Sri Lankan authorities have taken to implement the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 on Sri Lanka.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    During my visit to Sri Lanka on 14 to 17 January I was able to see for myself the progress that Sri Lanka has made in implementing its commitments to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution as well as the considerable challenges that remain. There have been some encouraging developments such as the return of some military occupied land, the deproscription of Tamil diaspora organisations and the release on bail of some long-term Tamil detainees held under anti-terrorism legislation. There is still much to be done and the UK is committed to supporting Sri Lanka to fulfil all of its UNHRC commitments. We welcome Sri Lanka’s engagement with the UN. The High Commissioner for Human Rights will visit shortly to inform his assessment of Sri Lanka’s progress, which he will present to the UNHRC in June.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support the implementation of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 on Sri Lanka.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK is committed to supporting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, which are fundamental elements of UN Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) announced £6.6 million of funding for Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November 2015 which will be used for providing support in these areas. We will coordinate our efforts with the Sri Lankan government and with international partners to target support at areas where it is most needed. We will regularly evaluate the effectiveness of our funding and assess opportunities for providing further support.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications of the announcement by Sri Lanka’s President Sirisena that he will not allow foreign judges to participate in the inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Her Majesty’s Government has always been clear that any accountability mechanism needs to be credible and meet international standards. I therefore welcomed the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October 2015, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, which called for the participation of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers, and authorised prosecutors and investigators, in Sri Lanka’s judicial accountability process. During my visit to Sri Lanka on 14 to 17 January I discussed the importance of an international element in Sri Lanka’s accountability process with both Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Samaraweera. I also wrote to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 28 January to reiterate the UK Government’s commitment to working with the UN, Sri Lanka and our other international partners to ensure full implementation of the UNHRC resolution.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Sri Lankan and (b) UN Human Rights Council counterparts regarding the announcement by Sri Lanka’s President Sirisena that foreign judges will not be involved in the inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The British Government has always been clear that any accountability mechanism needs to be credible and meet international standards. I therefore welcomed the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October 2015, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, which called for the participation of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers, and authorised prosecutors and investigators, in Sri Lanka’s judicial accountability process. During my most recent visit to Sri Lanka on 14 to 17 January I discussed the importance of an international element in Sri Lanka’s accountability process with both Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Samaraweera. I also wrote to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 28 January to reiterate the UK Government’s commitment to working with the UN, Sri Lanka and our other international partners to ensure full implementation of the UNHRC resolution.

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will update its travel checklist to include advice and warnings about the danger posed by carbon monoxide when travelling abroad.

    James Duddridge

    While the number of consular cases involving British nationals affected by carbon monoxide poisoning overseas is low, this remains a concern. The travel industry has an important role to play in addressing this issue, including through communications, although care must be taken to ensure the onus is not placed entirely on the traveller. Holiday providers should provide a safe environment without requiring holidaymakers to, for example, carry carbon monoxide alarms. In the UK, the energy industry is providing important advice to the public on carbon monoxide poisoning through its ‘Be Alarmed’ campaign. Our foreign travel checklist on the GOV.UK website signposts travellers to their advice.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of torture in Sri Lanka.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Her Majesty’s Government takes very seriously any allegations of torture or other forms of ill-treatment, in Sri Lanka as in other countries. I raised concerns, highlighted by recent NGO reports on allegations of ongoing torture in Sri Lanka, with both the government and civil society when I visited Sri Lanka in January. British High Commission officials in Colombo are also in regular contact with local human rights organisations in Sri Lanka.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the government of Sri Lanka’s efforts to fulfil its commitments on the devolution of political authority.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    During my recent visit to Sri Lanka I discussed the issue of political settlement and devolution with the government and with Tamil politicians. I was encouraged that consultations are beginning and that a formal process of drafting a new constitution, including provisions for devolution, is due to begin shortly.