Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to appeal to the Government of Burma on the (a) release of Lahpi Gam on medical grounds and (b) medical care required by that prisoner.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We remain concerned about Lahpi Gam's ongoing detention and by reports of his poor physical health. In 2013, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention opined that his imprisonment constituted arbitrary detention and raised a number of concerns about the fairness of his trial. We regularly raise our concerns regarding political prisoners with the Burmese authorities.
Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to resolve the escalation in conflict in Kachin and northern Shan States, Burma, and the displacement of several thousands of civilians in that area.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We have been a consistent supporter of Burma's peace process, aimed at ending the long-running conflict between the military and the ethnic armed groups. This includes practical support delivered through both the multi-donor Joint Peace Fund and the Peace Support Fund, as well as technical advice and expertise. The UK has provided over £18.1 million in essential humanitarian and health assistance in Kachin and Northern Shan states from 2012 until the end of last financial year, and will provide approximately a further £5 million this year.
Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to press for humanitarian access to Rakhine, Kachin and Northern Shan States, Burma; and what the results have been of any such diplomatic actions take to date.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We are deeply concerned by continuing restrictions on humanitarian access to Rakhine, Kachin and Northern Shan States. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns, visited Burma from 9-12 November and urged Burmese Government Ministers to ensure the full resumption of humanitarian aid and to set up an independent investigation into allegations of human rights violations in Rakhine. I also raised this in person with the Burmese Minister of Construction, when he visited London, on 29 November. The UK has long been one of the biggest humanitarian donors to Burma and to Rakhine State, providing over £23 million in humanitarian assistance to Rakhine since 2012. The Government of Burma has committed to restoring humanitarian access. In practice, worrying restrictions remain and we, together with other countries and the UN, will continue to monitor developments closely and to raise our concerns at every opportunity.
For Kachin and Northern Shan we continue to raise with the Government of Burma the restriction of humanitarian access to internally displaced people. Baroness Anelay discussed this with the Burmese Minister for Defence during her visit. The UK has provided over £18.1 million in essential humanitarian and health assistance in Kachin and Northern Shan states from 2012 until the end of last financial year, and will provide a further £5 million approximately this year. We continue to provide political and practical support to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's 'Panglong' peace initiative, which successfully brought together the main players last year, in a bid to end this long-running internal conflict.
Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the humanitarian and human rights situation in Rakhine State, Burma.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We remain deeply concerned by the humanitarian and human rights situation in Rakhine. We are particularly concerned by reports from a range of human rights organisations of human rights violations by the security forces following the attack on border posts on 9 October, and the subsequent security response to these attacks. We are also concerned about the humanitarian impact if aid is not resumed quickly, particularly impacting those already affected by malnutrition. We have made several representations to the government of Burma and called for humanitarian access both through our Ambassador and also through Ministerial contacts. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns, visited Burma from 9-12 November and urged Burmese Government Ministers to ensure the full resumption of humanitarian aid and to set up an independent investigation into allegations of human rights violations. I also raised this in person with the Burmese Minister of Construction, when he visited London, on 29 November. We will continue to monitor developments closely and to raise our concerns at every opportunity.