The British government has announced its intension to establish a UK autonomous Global Human Rights ('Magnitsky-style') sanctions regime against Sri Lanka and high level government officials over alleged human rights violations, FCO Minister of State Nigel Adams.
The regulations will come into force once secondary legislation is laid in Parliament in the coming months. It would be inappropriate to comment on potential designations before the regulations come into force
It would be inappropriate to comment on potential designations before the regulations come into force, he added.
He was responding to questions raised by Afzal Khan, the Labour shadow minister for the home office and immigration recently
The British government has said that it continues to “underline the importance of accountability, justice and reconciliation” in its engagement with the government of Sri Lanka.
The UK has long supported Sri Lanka's accountability commitments made to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) through resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1 as the best way to establish truth regarding alleged crimes committed by all sides during the Sri Lankan civil war, as well as to achieve accountability and reconciliation.
In August 2019, the British High Commission in Colombo issued a joint statement alongside other European partners to express concern about the appointment of Lieutenant-General Shavendra Silva as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army due to the allegations of grave human rights and humanitarian law violations against him.
The British Government regularly engages with the Government of Sri Lanka on the importance of truth, accountability and justice for all of the victims of the Sri Lankan civil war.
The Minister for South Asia, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, underlined the importance of these issues when he met the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena, in Geneva on 25 February.
The UK continues to call on the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfil the commitments it has made to the UN Human Rights Council through resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1, most recently through the statement of the Core Group on Sri Lanka at the UNHCR in Geneva on 27 February.
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