Britain’s minister for Asia and the Pacific said “much faster progress is needed” in Sri Lanka, as he responded to questions regarding accountability for mass atrocities committed almost a decade ago.
Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, asked whether “Ministers share my grave disappointment that, 10 years after the horrors of Mullivaikkal, no one has been brought to justice for war crimes in the Sri Lankan conflict?”.
In response, Mark Field said “as a penholder, the UK has played a leading role in trying to bring the parties together, but while we accept that positive steps have been taken, much faster progress is needed”.
“We shall continue to urge Sri Lanka to implement fully its commitments under UNHRC resolutions 30/1 and 34/1,” he added.
Villiers’ question was also followed up by Jim Cunningham, MP for Coventry South, who asked ”what is the Minister doing to promote the civil rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka?”.
Field said that whilst the British government is “pleased to see that Sri Lanka is co-sponsoring a new resolution at the Human Rights Council in March in Geneva, but I appreciate that we need to see some genuine progress, and I very much hope that the international community can come together and bring that about”.
His comments come as senior Sri Lankan leaders doubled down on their rejection of key terms in the UN resolution that it co-sponsored last month, including on the participation of foreign judges in an accountability mechanism for crimes committed 10 years ago. The Sri Lankan military offensive that concluded in May 2009 massacred tens of thousands of Tamils and saw gross violations of international law, including the shelling of hospitals and widespread sexual violence. To date, no one has been held accountable for the crimes.
See the full text of the minister’s comments here.
