Lord Naseby in House of Lords makes compelling case for greater British support to SL

With global attention focusing on conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, British peer Lord Michael Naseby called out for the British Government to assist Sri Lanka, whose people still face many challenges. 

On Tuesday, the House of Lords held a seven-hour debate on Britain’s Foreign Affairs and 63 peers from various political parties raised questions on Britain’s role in the current volatile international landscape. Former Prime Minister David Cameron, who was elevated with a peerage back into the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary by Rishi Sunak in November 2023, offered the UK Government’s responses at the end of the debate

A long-time friend of the Indian Ocean Island, Conservative peer, Lord Naseby, is noted for being a close ally of Sri Lanka over many decades. He has relentlessly supported successive Sri Lankan Governments and followed the progress that the country has made in addressing human rights issues and the legacy of the conflict years. 

The Conservative peer, who founded the British Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sri Lanka nearly 50 years ago, commended Sri Lanka for progressing now towards a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He is confident that Sri Lanka will address its own transitional justice mechanisms objectively using the skills of people from across the island’s diverse ethnic groups. Lord Naseby highlighted the international standing of those in Sri Lanka’s legal profession, as evidenced by his good friend, the late Sir Desmond De Silva, and stated that ‘the quality of lawyers in Sri Lanka is second to none’.

A special request was also made to change Britain’s Travel Advisory on Sri Lanka. As tourism plays a major role in the economy, Lord Naseby believes that more British tourists would visit the island if the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which is now led by Lord Cameron, provided more accurate Travel Advisory information on Sri Lanka. Lord Naseby urged FCDO officials to be more positive in portraying the opportunities for tourists to visit Sri Lanka as travellers no longer have to face protests or fuel shortages as occurred in 2022 and that the last terrorist attacks on the island happened nearly 5 years ago in 2019. Lord Naseby is confident that more British tourists would readily flock to Sri Lanka if a correct portrayal of the ground realities was presented by UK authorities.

In the summing up of responses to the several questions raised by Peers, Lord Cameron said that he ‘very much agreed’ with the points raised by Lord Naseby. Sri Lankan authorities will now need to follow-up with the FCDO’s South Asia department in London and the British High Commission in Colombo to see if Lord Naseby’s request for the UK’s support towards Sri Lanka actually bears fruit.

Following are excerpts of Lord Naseby’s remarks.

I will move on to a country I know probably better than any other. I served there in 1963 for the Reckitt & Colman Group, and I started the all-party parliamentary group. Of course, I refer to Sri Lanka, a country that has faced incredible problems. On the climate side, the tsunami hit Sri Lanka and the Maldives really hard. I remember my wife and I watching it on Boxing Day and, a few days later, we were out there trying to help them deal with that problem. Over 1,000 people were killed on one railway because of the tsunami. Huge numbers were killed.

The country has been through massive difficulties, some of them of their own making and some of them not—but it does not matter: it is an important part of the Commonwealth. I thank our Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for the way it has stood by it, questioning it very hard at times. But, underneath, the Sri Lankans know that they are part of the same family.

Two things are happening now. There is the talk—and, more than talk, work being done—on a truth and reconciliation commission. In my judgment, that is to be greatly welcomed. I reflect on the late Sir Desmond de Silva, a great lawyer, as evidence that the quality of lawyers in Sri Lanka is second to none. As it is set up, it will of course be across the ethnic groups, it has to be. There are people there who are thoroughly objective.

There is still one challenge: that country lives by good tourism. It is recovering now, but one element that is missing is those who are 75 and over. They are, on the whole, British citizens. It is the FCDO comments on that country that currently cause me concern because they refer to the fact that protests are going on when they are not. They say that there is a fuel shortage, but there is not and has not been for 18 months. They also say that there are other difficulties of a terrorist nature, which we have not had for five years. So can my noble friend look at that guidance? It helps that particular age group because, at least from surveys that have been done, 80% of it looks at that guidance. Perhaps I could bring a couple of people from the newly set-up Experience Travel Group, which is private sector, to perhaps talk to a junior Minister about amending that.

FULL TRANSCRIPT Part 1:https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2024-03-05/debates/F011584E-89D8-4431-BA5A-44F54D3C3F3B/ForeignAffairs

Part 2:https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2024-03-05/debates/118562C7-2918-4CEB-94AF-9A30F8F31558/ForeignAffairs