Forced cremations in Sri Lanka

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The Labour Party is committed to defending the rule of law and human rights across the world. This includes in Sri Lanka, where concerns for religious freedoms for minorities have deepened since Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected as President in December 2019.

Reports of the forced cremation of victims of COVID-19 – including those of Muslim and Christian faith for whom burial rituals and traditions are sacred – are deeply concerning. The World Health Organisation has issued guidance stating that the burial of Covid-19 dead poses no danger to public health.

The Labour Party supports the work of the United Nations resident coordinator for Sri Lanka and UN regional groups, which have all written to the Sri Lanka government calling for COVID-19 victims to be handled with dignity and in accordance with their own religious beliefs.

The Foreign Secretary must raise these concerns immediately with his counterpart in Sri Lanka, and the UK government should work with international partners to ensure the rights of the Sri Lankan people are upheld, and their religious practices respected.

Image credit: Muslim women at the opening of the Kataragama Festival, Uva, 2013. Brett Davies via Flickr.