UK Parliament After Sri Lanka's Human Rights: Voice For An I.I.I.

 

By Colombo Telegraph -

Yesterday there was a major debate in Westminster Hall UK and UK Parliament voice for ‘independent international investigation’; UN Resolution should allow, High Commissioner for Human Rights to setup that mechanism within reasonable time scale.

Colombo Telegraph reproduced the Uncorrected version of the debate. Alternatively you can watch the debate here Westminster_Hall_22_02_2012

Westminster Hall

Wednesday 22 February 2012

[Mr Joe Benton in the Chair]

Sri Lanka (Human Rights)

Motion made, and Question proposed, That the sitting be now adjourned.—(Mr Newmark.)

9.30 am

Mr Sharma: I fully support my right hon. Friend’s intervention, and I will develop that point later in my speech.The UN panel of experts, two UN special rapporteurs on extra-judicial killings, the US State Department, the European Commission, Channel 4, the International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the elders and others, have documented allegations of egregious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law that were committed by the Government and the Tamil Tigers during Sri Lanka’s conflict. The Sri Lankan authorities, however, have continually refused to address adequately those serious claims. The findings of the UN panel of experts, which stated that, “most civilian casualties in the final phase of the war were caused by government shelling” were dismissed as “fundamentally flawed.”

Mr Sharma: I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I agree with the point that he raises.For more than two years, Sri Lanka maintained that it pursued a “humanitarian rescue operation” in the final stages of the war, with a policy of “zero civilian casualties”. Not until August 2011 did the Sri Lankan Defence Ministry concede for the first time that Government forces caused civilian deaths, but they took no responsibility for violating the laws of war. Indeed, the LLRC was appointed by President Rajapaksa only in the wake of domestic and international pressure to deal with issues of wartime accountability.

From its inception in May 2010 to the release of its long-delayed report in December 2011, the LLRC has shown that it is not fit for purpose. According to the UN panel of experts on Sri Lanka, the LLRC failed to satisfy international standards for independence and impartiality; it was compromised by its composition and the deep-seated conflicts of interest of some of its members. The UN panel stated that the LLRC mandate was “not tailored to investigating allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, or to examining the root causes of the decades-long ethnic conflict”. In essence, it was a “deeply flawed” accountability mechanism.

The concerns that I have set out have only been reaffirmed with the publication of the LLRC report. The LLRC’s conclusions on the prosecution of the conflict contradict many of the findings of the UN panel of experts, with Government forces largely exonerated of any culpability for alleged atrocities. In the light of that, many countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia, as well as international non-governmental organisations, have criticised the LLRC’s failure adequately to address the allegations of war crimes.

The British Government have stated that “many credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, including from the UN panel of experts report, are either not addressed or only partially answered.”—[Official Report, 12 January 2012; Vol. 538, c. 21WS.]

They say that the LLRC report does not provide a serious and full response to the evidence of the UN panel, the UN special rapporteurs or the “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” documentary. Indeed, following the broadcast of that programme last June, the British Government stated that if Sri Lanka did not respond positively to the findings and recommendations of the UN panel report and the concerns of the international community, they would support calls to “revisit all options available to press the Sri Lankan government to fulfil its obligations”.

Mr Sharma: I thank my hon. Friend for that timely intervention. I am sure that the Minister will respond to it. I cannot at this stage find whether there is anyone such as my hon. Friend describes, but I will definitely be looking through the papers to see whether I can find anyone.Given that the British Government have consistently called for a credible and independent inquiry into “all allegations of grave abuses”, it follows that the UK should be willing to support an investigation under international auspices, in the light of the LLRC’s unsatisfactory conclusions. It is clear that independent credible investigations of human rights abuses cannot be achieved within Sri Lanka. The actions of the Rajapaksa regime and the conclusions of the LLRC support that case. Indeed, the need for an international investigation becomes even more acute when set against the backdrop of systematic Government failure to provide credible processes of accountability for rights abuses over many years. The current and previous Sri Lankan Administrations have established a number of domestic commissions of inquiry to investigate human rights abuses. However, they have often failed to provide accountability and justice for the violations identified.

Barry Gardiner (Brent North) (Lab):

My hon. Friend makes a very powerful case. Does he agree that this is not just a matter of looking back at what happened and ensuring that it is properly and fully investigated? The UN Committee Against Torture, in its examination of Sri Lanka last November, concluded that it has serious concerns about “the continued and consistent allegations of widespread use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of suspects in police custody”.

The report also states that “torture and ill-treatment perpetrated by state actors, both the military and the police, have continued in many parts of the country after the conflict ended in May 2009 and is still occurring in 2011”.

It is the UN Committee Against Torture reporting that. This is not a matter simply of looking back to what happened before and during the war.

Mr Sharma: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. I think that it would be better if I continued my speech, because the answers to the questions being raised now are ones that I will be developing later in my speech. I will definitely return to the issue.Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system, which has been weakened in recent years due to the centralisation of power with the President, cannot even offer a credible domestic avenue to pursue accountability. As Amnesty International has stated, the system “is subject to political pressure, lacks effective witness protection and is glacially slow…The system is so degraded that the vast majority of human rights violations over the past 20 years have never been investigated, let alone heard in court.”That is the point that my learned colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner), raised.The failure to hold those responsible to account for rights abuses has led to the development of a culture of impunity in Sri Lanka where anything goes, particularly in the Tamil majority areas of the north and the east. The militarisation of the region and the resultant impact on independent, civilian administration means that many Tamils fear that their culture and identity are under existential threat.

Mr Sharma: I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. That is an important point, and I am sure we will get answers from other Members, the Minister or perhaps the high commissioner himself—his representative is sitting here and will be taking a note of these points.It was only in November last year that the UN Committee Against Torture produced a damning report on allegations pertaining to the ongoing use of torture and ill treatment by state actors, including the military and police. Highlighting allegations of threats to, and harassment of, human rights defenders, defence lawyers, journalists and others, the committee stated: “It regrets that, in many cases, those allegedly responsible for acts of intimidation and reprisal appear to enjoy impunity.”In addition to his Government’s failure to promote and protect human rights, President Rajapaksa has failed to adhere to his 2009 commitment to “address the aspirations and grievances of all communities” and pursue meaningful reconciliation after decades of political violence and conflict. A political solution to the ethnic conflict through devolution and negotiations with Tamil and other minority political representatives has not been forthcoming. Instead, as the International Crisis Group noted, the Government’s post-war agenda “has been further to centralise power, expand the role of the military, undermine local civilian authorities, and politicise the institutions that should uphold the rule of law and combat impunity”.All those who now speak publicly against the Government are imprisoned, leaving an all-powerful family Government who are becoming more centralised and heavy-handed. Economist and opposition figure Harsha de Silva says the army is becoming involved in hotels, farming, construction, golf courses, sports stadiums and even in running roadside tea stalls. The main political threat to Rajapaksa’s rule is former general turned popular presidential candidate, Sarath Fonseka, who currently resides in a Colombo jail.Colleagues of two political activists, Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Murugananthan, who went missing in Sri Lanka’s north on 9 December, fear the men are in grave danger. On 9 January, hundreds of clamouring demonstrators marched through the capital, Colombo. They demanded that the Government release the activists,put an end to abductions in the north and pull the military out of former conflict areas. In fact, the opposite is happening.Mr Weeraraj and Mr Murugananthan spent many of the months before they went missing campaigning on behalf of thousands of missing Tamils, many of whom were last seen in the custody of the security forces. The two were intercepted in the northern city of Jaffna by men on motorcycles. They were bundled into a white van and taken away. That pattern is now all too familiar. In a report in December, the LLRC wrote that it was alarmed by the large number of complaints of “abductions, enforced or involuntary disappearances, and arbitrary detentions”.

Sinhalese and Muslims, who count as a separate ethnic group in Sri Lanka, are now being targeted in addition to Tamils, and some are turning up dead. On 3 January, Dinesh Buddhika Charitananda, a 25-year-old ethnic Sinhalese, was abducted at night. His body was later found near a river in a Colombo suburb. In October, Mohamed Niyas, a Muslim astrologer, was taken away in a white van by a group of gun-toting men and found dead three weeks later.

According to the Bangkok-based Asian Human Rights Commission, there is a “commonly held belief” that the abductions and murders are happening with “the direct or indirect knowledge of the police and often also with the tacit approval of political authorities”.

The families of the two activists, Mr Weeraraj and Mr Murugananthan, have now petitioned the United Nations, and a spokesman for Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the UN, says the case of the abductions is being sent to the UN Human Rights Council for investigation. The families turned to an international body because they could not get action from the local authorities.

Such allegations raise questions about the deportation of Sri Lankans from Britain. The UK Border Agency is to continue forced-removal flights, despite human rights organisations warning of mistreatment. The agency has carried out two large-scale deportations to Sri Lanka since June, the last of which left Luton airport in September, despite the concerns of several rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which believe that deported Tamils may be at risk of arbitrary arrest and mistreatment.

One London-based non-governmental organisation, Freedom from Torture, which provides medical services to torture victims, has said that it has gathered evidence demonstrating that prisoners in Sri Lanka still faced severe mistreatment this year—more than two years after the island’s 26-year civil war came to an end.

Last month, the UN Committee against Torture reported that it was “seriously concerned about the continued and consistent allegations of widespread use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”, after hearing submissions from a number of NGOs and the Sri Lankan Government. The committee also expressed concern at “the prevailing climate of impunity” in Sri Lanka.

In a case recently referred to in a UK Border Agency report, Freedom from Torture noted that, in spring this year, a Sri Lankan national known as Rohan was tortured after travelling back from the UK. According to Freedom from Torture, Rohan, who held a UK student visa, claimed that after returning to Sri Lanka to visit a sick relative, he was held by officials at Colombo airport and detained for three days, during which he was beaten and stripped and his skin was burned with heated metal. On the strength of his evidence of torture, he was later granted asylum in the UK.

The UK Border Agency has warned officials who are deciding asylum claims that NGOs have serious concerns about forcibly returned Tamils. However, the agency is also circulating a report that quotes senior Sri Lankan intelligence officials as saying that Tamil detainees are inflicting wounds on themselves to create scars that will support later asylum claims.

In the light of plans for a further mass removal flight on 28 February, I call upon the Government to do more to ensure that they are not returning individuals to a risk of torture in Sri Lanka. The fates of almost all those who have been returned on the charter flights thus far are unknown.

In response to concerns raised by Freedom from Torture about the risk of torture for Tamils returning to Sri Lanka, the Minister has provided public assurances about monitoring arrangements in place for those forcibly returned. He has indicated that for the recent charter flights, returnees were met by UK Government officials, provided with contact details for the British high commission in Colombo and given a small payment for onward travel. Against the backdrop of torture risks for those who return from abroad, there is widespread concern that those are woefully inadequate protections against torture. However, worse still, it is has just emerged that even those basic protections do not apply to anyone forcibly removed other than by charter flight.

Could the Minister please explain how many people have been forcibly removed to Sri Lanka otherwise than by charter flight since the civil war ended? Why are those forcibly returned on ordinary flights not met at the airport and provided with an assistance package? Why was that disparity in protection not disclosed when the Minister was asked to explain the monitoring arrangements for anyone forcibly returned to Sri Lanka? How does the Minister intend to remedy that protection gap? What do the Government intend to do to verify the safety of those returned in the months following their return?

Sri Lanka’s entire approach to accountability, justice and reconciliation must be challenged to prevent the setting of a dangerous precedent for the future. A failure to investigate alleged war crimes during the conflict undermines international law and respect for human rights and potentially sows the seeds for future conflict on the island.

Kofi Annan has stated that “the international community cannot be selective in its approach to upholding the rule of law and respect for human rights.”

Impunity in Sri Lanka, where violations were on a massive scale and yet the UN failed to act, sets dangerous precedents. It sends a message to Sri Lankans that the UN is irrelevant there, and it could re-enforce that message globally. That could create a situation where states that have not ratified the Rome statute would feel that they are beyond the reach of international justice and that crimes committed in the name of combating terrorism can simply be ignored.

The international community’s failure to take timely action in 2009 endangered hundreds of thousands of civilian lives in Sri Lanka. Continued inaction threatens future generations and institutions that are critical to the protection of rights in Sri Lanka and internationally. Sri Lanka’s failure to ratify the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court means that the court cannot act without a referral from the United Nations Security Council. Far from referring the situation to the court, the UN has not even established an effective system to document the extent of violations. It has never revealed what it knew about the final days of conflict or acknowledged the scale of the abuse that took place. The end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka should have been an opportunity for the country to turn a page on impunity. It is crucial that the UN and the UK should support genuine international efforts to encourage the Sri Lankan Government to give better protection to the rights of all Sri Lankans and ensure that violations, which became so commonplace in the past, are not repeated.

I call on the Minister to address the clear failings of the LLRC to deliver progress on accountability and acknowledge the need for the international community to act decisively during this session of the UN Human Rights Council to put the necessary machinery in place and to ensure that the UK plays a proactive and leading role in efforts to secure the strongest possible resolution on accountability for serious human rights violations in Sri Lanka, that any Human Rights Council resolution is not limited to the conflict period and that it includes within its scope accountability for torture and other continuing violations that make it impossible to secure a sustainable peace in Sri Lanka.

Reconciliation and sustainable peace must be built on the foundations of a credible truth and accountability process for the alleged crimes committed in the final months of the civil war. A genuine mechanism for truth, accountability and justice would challenge the prevailing culture of impunity and could play an important role in reducing the perpetration of human rights abuses. However, such a process can be satisfactorily conducted only under international auspices. Investigations of a similar nature have been voted for and conducted by the UN Human Rights Council on Libya, Syria and Ivory Coast in recent months.

The number of concerned hon. Members present at this Westminster Hall debate demonstrates the strength of parliamentary support for strong diplomatic action to be taken by the British Government. Many other hon. Members who could not be here this morning, including my hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), who had a pressing constituency engagement, have assured me of their support; so it is not only the Members who are present who are concerned. Others who could not get here support my argument and ask for the same demands to be met.

The next generation of Sri Lankans, whether they are Tamil or otherwise, deserve a future in which they can move on from the horrors that they and their families have experienced and the losses they have suffered on all sides. They deserve to know what happened and to be able to reflect on it as one of the most significant times in their nation’s history, for which those responsible are brought to justice. Only then will there be true and lasting peace.

MsSiobhain McDonagh (Mitcham and Morden) (Lab):

Last month, I was one of the signatories nominating Channel 4 News for the Nobel peace prize in recognition of its work in highlighting human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. Parliamentarians around the world were shocked when Channel 4 broadcast a harrowing documentary, using video from victims and perpetrators that proved, according to the UN special rapporteur, “definitive war crimes”. I imagine that all of us have seen that programme, and none could forget the impact that it had on us. The Minister himself gave an eloquent speech after watching that programme. It showed the routine shelling of civilians in hospitals and safe zones, video evidence of executions carried out in cold blood at point blank range. Disgusting scenes were shown of dead, semi-naked women, who had obviously been sexually assaulted then shot dead, being thrown on to the back of lorries, while soldiers joked about who was the best looking.

In the nomination letter, I said: “By bringing to light the breaches of international conventions by the Government of Sri Lanka in a bold manner and by piecing together numerous forms of evidence in a coherent way, the value of independent journalism to the building of a peaceful global order in the century ahead has been amply demonstrated.”

It is easy to forget quite how dreadful the conflict was. Some 100,000 people were killed—40,000 civilians in the last few months alone. The UN identified “serious violations of international humanitarian law” and the European Commission described “unlawful killings perpetrated by soldiers, police and…groups with ties to the Government.”

Although the previous British Government may have come to realise what was going on too late, they are widely recognised for taking a lead in standing up against those abuses. My right hon. Friend the Member for South Shields (David Miliband) was widely praised for visiting Sri Lanka and imploring the Government there to stop shelling their own people. Thanks to his influence, we brought an end to Generalised System of Preferences—GSP Plus—which gave preferential trading status to Sri Lanka in Europe, prevented it from hosting a Commonwealth conference and voted against an IMF deal worth $2.5 billion.

Siobhain McDonagh: I hope my hon. Friend will understand but I will not give way. I want others to be able to speak, so I must do this quickly. Britain has a proud record of leading world opinion. The grip we had in leading international opinion is, I believe, one reason why the United Nations has placed so much emphasis on accountability for war crimes. Yet despite the UN stressing that “not to hold accountable those who committed serious crimes…is a clear violation of Sri Lanka’s international obligations” and despite the Panel for Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka calling for an independent, international investigation into war crimes, Sri Lanka instead established a Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission that was clearly not independent. After all, it was comprised of people who supported the Sri Lankan Government’s behaviour during the civil war and, according to the Sri Lankan Government, the LLRC’s job was to “relegate the past to history.”Fears that that commission would reach unsatisfactory conclusions now appear to be well-founded. Indeed, the Minister himself has said: “The British Government is, on the whole, disappointed by the report’s findings and recommendations on accountability…These leave many gaps and unanswered questions…We note that many credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, including from the UN Panel of Experts report, are either not addressed or only partially answered. We believe that video footage, authenticated by UN Special Rapporteurs, should inform substantive, not just technical, investigations into apparent grave abuses.”Most observers have come to similar conclusions. For example, Freedom from Torture has said: “On the all important question of accountability, the Commission has completely failed to deliver.” Internationally, the LLRC is seen as an attempt to brush war crimes under the carpet. However, although our words have sounded damning, I must say that the Tamil community are increasingly concerned that British actions are anything but damning. Freedom from Torture’s chief executive, Keith Best, has said: “The UK government has insisted that Sri Lanka demonstrate ‘progress’ on accountability for international crimes by the end of 2011…but there is no getting around the fact that the necessary progress has not been achieved”.How can Britain respond? Despite the lack of progress; despite the widespread evidence of torture; despite the fact that more than 300,000 Tamils are being held in camps after the war, with many of them still living in deplorable conditions described by the International Crisis Group as being “devoid of the most basic amenities”; despite independent reporters still not being permitted to report; and despite allegations of all sorts of ongoing human rights abuses, Britain has embarked on a policy of sending planeloads of Tamils back to Sri Lanka even though there is a genuine and understandable fear about how they might be treated there. How does that look to the rest of the international community? What it looks like is an endorsement by Britain of the appalling behaviour of the Sri Lankan Government and a snub to Tamils who fear for their safety. Understandably, Tamils look at us and say that, if Britain were serious about its criticisms of Sri Lanka, those flights would not be taking off.What is even worse is that, while everyone else has been increasingly frustrated by Sri Lanka’s efforts to use the LLRC to wriggle out of its legal obligations to investigate war crimes, not once have we heard from the mouth of a British Minister these words: “We support an independent international mechanism to conduct investigations into the alleged violations that took place in Sri Lanka.” Those are not radical words; they simply repeat what the UN panel of experts has asked for.Britain’s Tamil community is understandably impatient. The US is bringing a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council and the European Parliament has passed a motion demanding “a UN commission of inquiry into all crimes committed”.My right hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Mr Alexander) has said that the Labour party supports an international commission to investigate the “acts of unconscionable violence” perpetrated in the final months of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict in 2009. Britain’s recent reticence and reluctance to join in that support for the UN panel of experts is extremely disappointing and has no doubt been noted by many Tamils here in the UK. I hope that the Minister will be able to rectify that situation today.

Britain is respected around the world for taking brave and principled leads, as we did in supporting military action in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Libya; in imposing sanctions against Robert Mugabe and Bashar al-Assad; and in helping establish the International War Crimes Tribunal. Surely we can join the moderate voices supporting the calls by the UN panel of experts for an “independent international investigation”.

I hope that the Minister will remember how he felt, and how we all felt, when we saw the Channel 4 documentary on Sri Lanka: numb; angry; and driven to right the horrific wrongs that were shown. Crimes such as those must be investigated and justice must be served. Kofi Annan has said that “the international community cannot be selective in its approach to upholding the rule of law and respect for human rights.”

On behalf of my constituents, I implore the Minister to consider the message that Britain is sending the world by forcing Tamils on to planes to go back to a country where torture continues, and by failing to support loudly the UN panel of experts. I hope that today we can reassure British Tamils that Britain is serious about doing the right thing, and that we will take a lead on human rights in the international community.

10.24 am

Martin Horwood: My hon. Friend makes a very important point. In fact, the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall pointed out that there has been a series of internal commissions and inquiries within Sri Lanka, none of which have really had much credibility. Possibly the most credible of them has been the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, which produced a report last year, and it is important to acknowledge that that report made some tough recommendations in relation to detainees and media freedom. Furthermore, it dispelled the myth that there was no shelling of civilians and that, for instance, the shelling of hospitals by Government forces did take place. In that sense, that report by the LLRC was an important step forward.Nevertheless, I should still like to hear from the Minister what progress he thinks has been made in implementing the recommendations of the LLRC report. For instance, Human Rights Watch reported only last month that there are still several thousand people in Sri Lanka who, having initially been detained under the emergency regulations, are still in custody. Many of them have been held for years without trial, which is in violation of international law. The Sri Lankan Government have so far refused even to publish lists of those who have been detained. Of course, as several hon. Members have pointed out, there are severe limitations to the LLRC report, particularly in relation to the army’s conduct and to accountability for possible war crimes and humanitarian crimes that may have been committed.More fundamentally, however, there are other, deeper issues with Sri Lankan society. The Foreign Office’s own human rights report highlighted, for example, issues of torture. The report quoted the statement by the World Organisation Against Torture that “it had received credible testimonies of torture from across the country, including in cases not related to the ethnic conflict or terrorism”.The report also raised issues about human rights defenders, freedom of expression and other concerns, which I probably do not have time to go into today.The role of the army in Sri Lankan society is an increasing concern. Earlier this month, The Economist highlighted the role of the Sri Lankan President’s brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is the country’s defence secretary. The Economist said: “His brother, Basil, calls him “fully vegetarian, the nicest, kindest person in the family”, yet he is widely feared.”The article continued: “A Tamil leader says the army oversees “oppressive, insulting, humiliating” rule in the north, with tales of land grabs, murders and rape. In Colombo, political observers worry about the militarisation of politics.”The article went on: “Some local journalists are warned by editors never to write about him”— that is, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. It concluded on Gotabaya: “Asked if he frightens people, he says: “If they don’t criticise me, it is because there is nothing to criticise.””

I leave hon. Members to draw their own conclusions.

Obviously, there are also specific cases, such as those of Mr Weeraraj and Mr Murugananthan, the activists who have disappeared, and indeed the continuing case of Sarath Fonseka, a former general, who had the temerity to stand against Mahinda Rajapaksa in a presidential election. Can the Minister tell us—if not now, then in writing—what representations are being made on those specific cases to the Sri Lankan Government? Amnesty, Human Rights Watch and others have raised the issue at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. It has also been raised, as has been mentioned, by the Canadian Government.

In conclusion, I want to ask the Minister three specific questions. First, has he raised the issue of an independent accountability mechanism, as recommended by the UN panel of experts, with the Sri Lankan Government, within the EU and at UN level? If so, what progress has been made? I do not want words put into the Minister’s mouth, but it is important for us to know that those discussions are taking place. Secondly, what is our response to the Government of Canada and others who have questioned whether it is right for Sri Lanka to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, given Sri Lanka’s record on human rights? Thirdly, I emphasise the point made by the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall about the continued deportation of Sri Lankans from this country, when such deep concerns are raised by the Foreign Office about the treatment of detainees and those in custody. Obviously, the Minister has to be diplomatic, but it is time to send a clear message that, as a democratic Commonwealth country with high aspirations, Sri Lanka’s record on human rights and accountability for crimes committed is simply not good enough and has to change.

Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP):

Thank you for allowing me to speak, Mr Benton. I congratulate the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall (Mr Sharma) on securing this debate. Last year, my political researcher got married and she had her honeymoon in Sri Lanka. She regaled me with many stories about Sri Lanka—the ones that she could tell me about, of course. We see the tourist veneer, which is the good part of Sri Lanka. We do not see the underbelly of the political displacement taking place. People have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced.

Other hon. Members have spoken about Amnesty International. Its report referred to the “escalating political killings, child recruitment, abductions and armed clashes”, which created a climate of fear…spreading to the north by the end of the year”.

It outlined the violence against women and also referred to the death penalty. Sri Lanka has not officially used the death penalty since 1976, but there are well-documented cases of disappearances and murders. Non-partisan humanitarian organisations, notably Human Rights Watch, contradict official statements. Human rights violations include murder, rape and land grabs. People from all walks of life are disappearing.

I commend the hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh) for her comment on the sending back of Sri Lankans who have come to the United Kingdom and who will be forcibly repatriated without any consideration. Will the Minister comment on that?

I want to speak on an issue that concerns me greatly: evangelicals and Christians in Sri Lanka. Today, we have talked about the Tamils and their human rights. I want to talk about the rights of Christians. I have regular contact with Release International. It provides prayerful and practical support for those who need help. There have been attacks on Christians in south and west Sri Lanka recently. Several people have been injured and many have had their homes damaged. Attackers have shouted threats. Christians have left the area. Families have fled to the jungle. Local police have been informed, but no one has been made accountable. Why did this happen?

On July 10 last year, a pastor in Ampara district was hospitalised after being beaten by a Buddhist monk and others. The pastor from Mount Carmel church in—I will not try to pronounce the name of the place; in an Ulster accent, it will not come out right—attended a meeting about land distribution that was convened by the monk, and the pastor was attacked by those present. He was also later assaulted in his home. He was taken to Ampara hospital with injuries to his arm and severe pains in his stomach. In the Puttalam district in western Sri Lanka, the Prayer Tower church in Mahawewa was desecrated with excrement on June 5. Later on the same day, some 200 protestors carrying placards and clubs demanded the church’s closure. A lay preacher who tried to remonstrate with protestors was beaten.

Evangelical Christians face violence and opposition in the Buddhist-majority nation. Buddhist nationalists in Sri Lanka have caused concern among Protestant Christians by renewing their calls for anti-conversion laws. Can the Minister tell us what discussions he has had with Sri Lanka in relation to that?

The Jathika Hela Urumaya party, which has been pushing for legislation banning forced conversion since 2004, renewed its campaign in a press statement this month. It is clearly targeted at those of an evangelical, Protestant and Christian disposition. The JHU’s Prohibition of Religious Conversions Bill proposes to “ban fundamental Christian groups in the island”. Sri Lankan Protestants, especially evangelicals who are a particular target for discrimination and even persecution, fear that the law outlined in the Bill could be used to limit their church activities. Will the Minister respond to that as well?

Release sources inside Sri Lanka say that Christians are also concerned about a loosely worded circular issued in September by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. It stipulates that building or maintaining places of worship “must be sanctioned by prior approval of the Ministry.”

Release sources say that some existing churches have already been informed that they are illegal and must close because they do not have state approval. That clearly outlines my concerns.

According to our sources, evangelical churches in particular are facing increased pressure from the state, with “indiscriminate closure and threats”. Applications to register formally are “routinely rejected”, and there is evidence that planning permission is being denied for non-church buildings—even houses—if the applicant is a Christian individual or organisation.

We have a responsibility and a duty not only because Sri Lanka is a former British colony; we have a duty to use our influence to ensure that basic human rights are adhered to. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country—I have never visited, but people tell me that it is—that has been ravaged by war. I represent Sri Lankans in Northern Ireland. We have had our 30 years of troubles, which have impacted on our economy, but we are getting better. The potential of Sri Lanka is being shrouded by atrocities and human rights desecrations. We must apply diplomatic pressure to bring about change. I urge everyone here to support the people of Sri Lanka. They have no voice to speak for themselves. We must be that voice for them.

10.36 am

Mr Love: The Government’s written statement on the LLRC on 12 January states that “we continue to believe it is important that an independent, credible and thorough mechanism is put in place to investigate all allegations of grave abuses.”—[Official Report, 12 January 2012; Vol. 538, c. 21WS.]Will the Minister explain exactly what that means in current circumstances?

Alistair Burt: We still believe that. Let me marry that with the remarks that I will make to the hon. Member for Bristol East about the LLRC report.Does the report form a basis for progress? Yes, it does. We said that there are some aspects of it, particularly in relation to reconciliation and justice, where clear suggestions for the way forward have been made. We said that they had possibilities, and I said clearly that implementation of the recommendations is the real test of Sri Lanka’s progress.There are other areas where we did not believe the LLRC provided an adequate basis for going forward, principally in relation to accountability issues. We believe that more must be done with regard to those. As either the hon. Member for Bristol East or another hon. Member quoted earlier,“we note that many credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law, including from the UN panel of experts report, are either not addressed or only partially answered.” That includes Channel 4’s documentary. The quotation continues: “We believe that video footage, authenticated by UN special rapporteurs, should inform substantive, not just technical, investigations into apparent grave abuses.”—[Official Report, 12 January 2012; Vol. 538, c. 21WS.]Accordingly, our approach is to work with both the Sri Lankan Government and international partners on the different aspects. Where we believe the Sri Lankan Government can and should make progress, we still believe that a process led in Sri Lanka is better than one led internationally. However, where progress cannot be made, we reserve the right to work with international partners to apply pressure to ensure that it is made. That remains our position on an independent investigation and the international aspect of it.