Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart on the application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1978 in Sri Lanka.

Mr Hugo Swire

We regularly raise matters of concern with the Sri Lankan government, including the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the detention of prisoners without trial. I met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, the Honourable Mangala Samaraweera MP, on 14 September in Geneva. I was encouraged by our discussion and by his speech to the UN Human Rights Council. Amongst other commitments, he told members of the UN Human Rights Council that the Sri Lankan government would review and repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act and replace it with anti-terrorism legislation in line with contemporary international best practices. We will continue to monitor closely the situation of detainees held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and to raise issues of ongoing concern with the Sri Lankan government.