As the new British government reviews its international development commitments, rights groups are urging the Treasury to scrutinise UK funding that flows, directly or indirectly, to Sri Lanka's security sector. Despite repeated calls for accountability, British development assistance has continued to benefit institutions implicated in war crimes.
The argument is not against development assistance to Sri Lanka per se, but against the absence of human rights conditionality in that assistance. Other donor governments have attached accountability conditions to their support. Britain has not.