While Sri Lanka is a priority country for the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office in terms of Human Rights, Britain stated on Monday that according to its judgment, the UN Security Council would not provide the necessary support for a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) against individuals allegedly responsible for human rights breaches in Sri Lanka.
Stephen Morgan, a Labour MP in the British parliament, asked Vicky Ford, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), whether her Department was taking any action to ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against the Tamil community in Sri Lanka were brought before the International Criminal Court.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary Vicky Ford responded via a written statement.
“It would not advance the cause of accountability for an ICC referral to fail to win Security Council support or to be vetoed,”
The statement further states:
“We, alongside our partners in the Core Group on Sri Lanka, have led international efforts over many years to promote accountability, reconciliation, and human rights in Sri Lanka. On 23 March 2021, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted resolution 46/1, which provides a continued framework for international engagement on human rights.
It calls on the government of Sri Lanka to make progress on human rights and stresses the importance of a comprehensive accountability process for all violations and abuses committed in Sri Lanka. The Minister of State for South Asia, the Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, visited Sri Lanka in January 2022. He traveled to the North and East as well as Colombo and met a range of civil society groups, including Tamil representatives, to discuss human rights. The Minister also urged the Government of Sri Lanka to take steps to deliver justice and accountability.”
