British Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire said the United Kingdom will continue to work towards promoting accountability, reconciliation, political settlement and human rights, in its relationship with Sri Lanka.

Writing to the British Tamil Conservatives, Mr Swire said that he had “welcomed the recent report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)” which detailed the patterns of serious human rights violations and other international crimes that have taken place on the island.

Speaking on British Prime Minister David Cameron’s announcement that the UK will provide £6.6 million to Sri Lanka to support “military reform, displaced persons and reconciliation,” Mr Swire added “the Prime Minister, as he has done previously, raised ongoing concerns and urged further progress towards delivering a lasting peace”.

The funding would be used to “support reconciliation efforts, to influence and embed change in institutions central to democracy and stability and to support demining to allow displaces persons to return to their land”.

“The appointment of a Defence Advisor will enable the UK to work with the Sri Lankan armed forces on these issues, complementing our existing support to Government and civil society,” said Mr Swire, adding “as the OHCHR report recognises, the military has a crucial role to play in fulfilling the commitments Sri Lanka has made on reconciliation, accountability and human rights”.

“Our policy is for the United Kingdom to have a relationship with the government of Sri Lanka that allows us to maintain momentum on promoting accountability, reconciliation, political settlement and human rights,” he said. “This included encouraging the government to accelerate the return of land to its rightful civilian owners and to tackle land use and ownership, in particular ending military involvement in civilian activities.”