Biswal briefs Britain on SL

4 February 2014 09:31 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 17 Bookmark

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US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal held talks with Britain’s Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Hugo Swire in London yesterday on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

“Held productive discussions with US Assistant Secretary Nisha Biswal on the Sri Lanka human rights situation and Human Rights Council meeting in March,” Swire twitted after the meeting with Biswal.

Biswal visited Sri Lanka last weekend and held talks with the government, opposition and NGOs about the current situation in the country. She also visited the Jaffna peninsula and held talks with members of the Northern Provincial Council, the Governor and civil societies based in Jaffna.

Prior to her departure, she told the media in Sri Lanka that the US did not contemplate economic sanctions although a third resolution would be brought against Sri Lanka, owing to the ‘lack of progress on accountability and the deteriorating Human Rights situation in country’.

However, she said that the international community was ‘losing its patience’.

“We are concerned about the worsening situation with respect to Human Rights including continued attacks against religious minorities as well as the weakening of the rule of law and increase in the levels of corruption and impunity. All these factors lead to undermine the proud tradition of democracy in Sri Lanka,” she said in her opening statement