The UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils has voted in a new chair and agreed on new objectives for the new Parliament.

Conservative MP for Kingston and Surbiton, James Berry, was elected as the new chair of the group.

Creating a new set of objectives at the group’s AGM, several MPs, including Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, agreed to work to ensure that the OHCHR Investigation and the UN international and independent investigation are completed; and to assess their conclusions and ensure that appropriate international action is taken in the light of those conclusions.

Speaking to Tamil Guardian after the AGM, James Berry MP said that although the group did not wish to prejudge the contents of the UN report, they would not rule out encouraging the British government to employ soft powers, to further the objective of promoting reconciliation and human rights in Sri Lanka, including through supporting the UN investigation into war crimes.

Mr Berry also said that he would prioritise the objective to get the Sri Lankan government’s ban on legitimate diaspora organisations withdrawn, commenting that the proscription of certain Tamil organisations was “absolutely absurd”.

The group also agreed to support those who are witnesses to give their accounts in safety and without fear of reprisals and to work to obtain and publish a full list of those who have disappeared, been detained and/or released.

In an official press release Friday, Mr Berry said,

“It is a huge honour to Chair the APPG for Tamils. Although outgoing chair Lee Scott’s shoes will be hard to fill, I hope to continue to progress the tremendous work that Lee, Siobhan McDonagh and other MPs carried out in the last Parliament. Their work helped ensure that the British Government played a critical role in demanding a UN independent investigation into atrocities in Sri Lanka.  

“The publication of the UN investigation’s report in September will be a crucial event for the Tamil community. The APPGfT will debate the report’s conclusions and scrutinize the action that the British Government and the international community proposes to take in response to its findings.

“It’s great to lead a cross-party group of parliamentarians that take an issue that is so important to many of our constituents so seriously. We welcome the involvement of interested stakeholders who wish to work with us to seek justice in this area.”

Along with James Berry, Labour MP Siobhan McDonagh will act as Senior Vice Chair, while Richard Harrington MP, Joan Ryan MP and Wes Streeting MP will all be vice Chairs. Tom Brake MP of the Liberal Democrats will take on the role of Secretary, Jim Dowd MP will be Treasurer, and Mike Gapes MP, Paul Scully MP, Steve Reed MP, Virendra Sharma and Bob Blackman MP are all on the Executive.

See the full All Parliamentary Party Group for Tamils press release here.