Will Work With UNHRC And Pillay Towards International Inquiry On Sri Lanka: UK

January 28, 2014

Britain will assess Sri Lanka’s compliance with its international obligations and implementation of recommendations contained in the 2013 resolution co-sponsored by the UK when the UN Human Rights Council meets in March this year, the country’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron

“At the UN Human Rights Council in March 2014, as assessment will be made of Sri Lankan progress to date. The UK will not hesitate to play an active role if progress in not forthcoming,” the FCO said in a letter addressed to Rajasingham Jayadevan, a British national and former abductee of the LTTE.

Jayadevan wrote to British Prime Minister David Cameron following the Premier’s recent visit to Colombo. In response the FCO has asserted its official position on Sri Lanka.

“The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and Mr Swaire attended CHOGM in Sri Lanka due to the importance the UK attaches to the Commonwealth. In attending CHOGM, we also took advantage of a key opportunity to deliver a clear message to the Sri Lankan government: that we expect them to make progress on human rights, accountability, reconciliation and political settlement,” the letter said.

The letter said it was now important that there is a credible, transparent and independent inquiry into the events at the end of the Sri Lankan military conflict. “We share concerns of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that there have been no credible efforts to independently investigate the allegations to date. If credible investigations have not begun properly by March 2014, we will use our position on the United Nations Human Rights Council to work with the UN Human Rights Commissioner and call for an independent inquiry,” the letter said