The Hon. Arun Hemachandra - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I respond to the Motion by Hon. Rauff Hakeem. I would have preferred if he stayed to listen.

¶ 02 Regarding the recent boat arrivals from Myanmar: the Government has taken all steps to ensure safety and welfare in line with international humanitarian and customary international law. On 19 December 2024, the Navy detected a boat with 116 persons off the north-eastern coast, escorted it to safety, and provided immediate assistance. With a newborn delivered at Mullaitivu Hospital, the group is now 117. Immigration investigations and health screenings are underway to prevent reintroduction of eradicated communicable diseases; the Health Ministry is handling this.

¶ 03 Twelve, including crew, were arrested and produced before the Trincomalee Magistrate on 23 December 2024 and remanded. On 07 January 2025, they were released from prison custody and are now at the Immigration Detention Centre in Mullaitivu pending investigations. Pursuant to court orders of 23 December and 07 January, the entire group is detained at Mullaitivu under Immigration with Police assistance.

¶ 04 We are liaising with the Myanmar Embassy to establish nationality once domestic investigations and screenings conclude. The Human Rights Commission was granted access on 09 January 2025; further access requests are under review and will be considered once status is established.

¶ 05 Sri Lanka is not party to the 1951 Convention or 1967 Protocol, but we honour principles therein, including non-refoulement, and continue close cooperation with UNHCR, present here since 1987. As of November 2024, UNHCR-registered refugees and asylum seekers in Sri Lanka total approximately 405 (161 asylum seekers, 244 refugees), including 112 Rohingya with very limited third-country resettlement prospects. Of the 244 refugees, 109 are submitted for resettlement, 74 await a decision, and 14 are pending departure. Globally, third-country resettlement stands at around 1 per cent. UNHCR has scaled down to a single liaison officer in Sri Lanka, and avenues for resettlement are limited, save ongoing cases. The Myanmar boat arrivals are in violation of immigration law; a case is filed with the next hearing on 31 January 2025.

¶ 06 Securing borders remains a top priority. Illegal migrants will be dealt with under the Immigrants and Emigrants Act, while maintaining a humanitarian approach and ensuring national security.

¶ 07 As MP for Trincomalee and Deputy Minister, I note: these people have long faced persecution; we affirm the right to live in freedom. In 2017, during attacks on Rohingya under UNHCR care at Mt. Lavinia, the JVP’s Political Bureau condemned the harassment on 28 September 2017—a stance we reiterate against those who were then silent in government.

¶ 08 Attempts to label this Government anti-Muslim will fail. The NPP, contesting under one symbol, returned the highest number of Muslim MPs in history. From the moment of arrival, we provided food, medicines, and even ran a mobile health camp at the harbour in coordination with health authorities—without bias by ethnicity or faith. After that, the law applies: quarantine, immigration, and court-directed detention pending process.

¶ 09 We have not decided to deport them. Opinions exist within any polity, but decisions will be taken under national and international law with humanitarian consideration.

¶ 10 We acted and will act on a humanitarian basis, regardless of Sinhala, Tamil, or Muslim. In 2017, when they were brutally attacked, those now moving this Motion remained silent as Cabinet members. We did not. Today, they are safely housed in Sri Lanka; instead of thanking for protection, a Motion is used to divert from past complicity. As a Government, we will handle this responsibly, in line with national and international law and humanitarian duty.

¶ 11 Thank you.