Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her Department's policy is on using the word Rohingya when discussing the Rohingya with the government of Burma.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
While the Department for International Development has no formal policy on this point, we believe in the right of minorities to choose the name by which they are identified. I and other UK Ministers are on record using the word Rohingya, and we continue to use the word in communications with the government of Burma.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has held with the UN Secretary General on his role in negotiating humanitarian access in Rakhine state, Burma.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The Secretary of State for International Development has not held discussions with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on his role in negotiating humanitarian access in Rakhine State, Burma. We welcome the firm personal stand the UN Secretary General has already taken on the Rohingya and continue to encourage a wider UN leadership role to help bring peace and reconciliation to all communities in Rakhine State.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department is providing for internally displaced people in Shan and Kachin states, Burma.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
Between 2012 and 2015 DFID has allocated over £17 million for humanitarian assistance for internally displaced persons (IDP) in Kachin and Northern Shan States, including in non-government controlled areas.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many ethnic Rohingya in camps in Rakhine State, Burma, have died in the last year; and what the main causes of deaths in those camps are.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The Burmese Ministry of Health and the UN did not collect this data last year.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what reports she has received of an increase in death rates in camps for the Rohingya following the expulsion of MSF and other agencies from Rakhine State, Burma.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
There have been a number of deaths in Rohingya camps since March. We have not received any reports of an increase in the rate during this period but the situation remains of urgent concern. The Ministry of Health and NGOs have been providing some primary healthcare in the IDP camps, but there continue to be barriers to access, particularly to hospital level care for Rohingya, and this remains a key concern for us. We continue to advocate with all levels of government on this issue.