To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Sri Lanka about social, ethnic and religious harmony. [HL1862]

We continue to take every opportunity to urge the Government of Sri Lanka to make progress on national reconciliation, through taking forward the need for a fully inclusive political solution which addresses the underlying causes of the conflict. It remains our view that this is the only way to achieve lasting peace in Sri Lanka. Reconciliation will depend in a large part on the Government of Sri Lanka protecting and promoting the rights of all Sri Lanka's social, ethnic and religious communities. Following the recent presidential election in Sri Lanka my right honourable friend the Prime Minister wrote to President Rajapakse urging him to use his mandate to take forward genuine reconciliation. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary also discussed this issue when he spoke to Foreign Minister Bogollagama on 5 February 2010.

Parliamentary elections will be the next opportunity for Sri Lankans of all communities to elect their representatives. They need to be able to make their choices freely and in an atmosphere untainted by violence.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka. [HL1863]

The latest UN figures of 15 January 2010 estimate that approximately 187,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) have been released from the camps in Vavuniya to either their places of origin or to institutions and host families

While we welcome the returns, we are urging the Government of Sri Lanka to continue to release all IDPs and to allow full access for humanitarian agencies to all areas of return. This is critical to ensure families recover their lives and livelihoods.

We also urge the Government of Sri Lanka to allow ICRC access to the 12,000 suspected former combatants who remain detained in numerous locations.

The Department for International Development (DfID) has contributed £12.5 million of humanitarian assistance to help those displaced and support their returns in Sri Lanka. This funding is being provided to impartial humanitarian agencies.

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made or intend to make representations to the government of Sri Lanka concerning their proposed religious anti-conversion legislation. [HL1864]

Our High Commission in Colombo has expressed our concerns over religious freedoms to the Sri Lankan Minister of Human Rights and Disaster Management. In addition, last year the EU expressed its concern at a draft Bill relating to religious freedoms, which was awaiting further discussion in the Sri Lankan Parliament. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Sri Lankan Government about any legislation that reduces freedoms protected by international human rights law.