The British Parliament debated the challenges of human rights violations faced by professionals on Wednesday, with a Conservative party report naming Sri Lanka as a region of the world where these violations occur.

Leading the debate, Conservative MP Robert Buckland stated,

"It is also known that in conflict zones, medical professionals are deliberately targeted by those involved.

For example, in Sri Lanka, during the final stages of the civil war, the military was accused of intentionally shelling field hospitals, killing doctors and other medical professionals. The United Nations report of the Secretary-General’s panel of experts on accountability in Sri Lanka said:

“The Government systematically shelled hospitals on the frontlines. All hospitals in the Vanni were hit by mortars and artillery, some of them were hit repeatedly”."

He also noted the danger faced by media workers in the country, further stating,

"Among the most dangerous countries for journalists are Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mexico, the Philippines and Somalia."

See full text of the debate here.

The debate comes on the back of a report by the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission entitled “Professionals in the Firing Line”, which examined how professionals around the world “face restrictions, hindrances, discrimination,
injustice, abuse and physical danger, in the daily  course of their work”.

See the full report here.