Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Rohingyan refugees are not repatriated to Burma against their will.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK has been clear, as has the UN Security Council, that Burma must create the conditions in Rakhine to allow the Rohingya to return safely, voluntarily and with dignity. We agree with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees that these conditions do not yet exist. UN agencies also do not have the access they need to provide independent monitoring of any returns. The UK was deeply concerned when Bangladesh and Burma announced that the repatriation of refugees to Burma would begin in November 2018. We raised our concerns at the highest levels with both Governments, stressing that returns should not commence while conditions in northern Rakhine remain as they are. We welcome Bangladesh's commitment to the principle of "voluntariness" and were pleased that repatriations did not commence in November 2018. We will continue to make representations to the Governments of both Bangladesh and Burma not to commence returns until suitable conditions exist in northern Rakhine.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with the Department for International Development to protect vulnerable people in refugee camps in Bangladesh from sexual violence.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK remains committed to protecting vulnerable people, including the over one million forcibly displaced Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Up to 18 per cent of the Department for International Development's latest £70 million funding to the Rohingya crisis response in Bangladesh is devoted to the protection of rights for refugees, including prevention and monitoring of sexual exploitation and abuse.
The UK Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative continues to work with the Government of Bangladesh, UN agencies and other stakeholders to strengthen justice and accountability for Rohingya survivors of sexual violence. UK funding includes support for family planning, clinical support to survivors of sexual violence and the creation of safe spaces for women.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances Burmese State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has given to the Government on the status of Rohingya in Burma.
Answered by Mark Field
The former Foreign Secretary and Aung San Suu Kyi discussed the status of the Rohingya on many occasions, most recently on 11 June. She highlighted Burma's recent announcement that it had signed a MoU allowing for a UN presence in northern Rakhine.
The Rohingya have long been persecuted in Rakhine. We continue to urge the Burmese Government to address the underlying issues through the implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations, including on the status of the Rohingya. The British Ambassador made this clear with Burmese Ministers and the Commander in Chief of the Army in early July.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason the UK abstained during the recent UN Human Rights Council vote on an independent investigation into violence in Gaza.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK's Permanent representative in Geneva set out our reasoning at length in an explanation of the vote which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/human-rights-council-special-session-28th
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Myanmar Government on allowing access for human rights observers to Rakhine State.
Answered by Mark Field
The UK co-sponsored the resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in March this year which set up a Fact Finding Mission to look into the human rights situation in Burma, following the events in Rakhine State in October 2016. At the Human Rights Council in Geneva in September, the UK took part in an Interactive Dialogue with the Fact Finding Mission and supported the resolution to extend the mandate of the Mission to include the deteriation since 25 August in Rahkine. We continue to urge the Government of Burma, and in particular the military, to cooperate with the UN Fact Finding Mission and its mandate and to enable access for the Mission to Rakhine State.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with his foreign counterparts on the imposition of sanctions against the Myanmar Government.
Answered by Mark Field
Ministers are actively discussing the situation in Rakhine with a number of foreign counterparts. We have also raised Rakhine three times at the UN Security Council since 25 August. We continue to consider with other Council members what further action can be taken to press the Burmese Government to resolve the situation in Rakhine and ensure the safe return of the displaced Rohingya from Bangladesh
We are also working with EU partners to consider possible measures, which would follow the UK's lead in suspending defence assistance and visits to EU countries by Burmese senior military figures responsible for the violence in Rakhine state.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his foreign counterparts in the Kashmir region on stability in Kashmir; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
I am concerned about reports of ongoing unrest and violence in India-administered Kashmir. The FCO continues to closely monitor the situation. The long standing position of the UK is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or to act as a mediator.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
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 situation in Myanmar since publication on 3 February 2017 of a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the rights of the Rohingya.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We are deeply concerned by recent reports detailing human rights violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State of Burma. These include reports by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma and by a range of international human rights organisations. We are also concerned by the humanitarian situation facing the people in Rakhine with up to 70,000 refugees fleeing across the border into Bangladesh.
With our international partners, we are currently negotiating a Resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where we are advocating for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma. We are also seeking to establish a mechanism which has the support of both the Burmese authorities and the international community to establish the facts and help deliver accountability for violations.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with counterparts in other countries, excluding those in Myanmar, on the human rights situation in Myanmar since the publication on 3 February 2017 of a report by the UN High Commissioner on the Rohingya.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We are deeply concerned by recent reports detailing human rights violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State of Burma. These include reports by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma and by a range of international human rights organisations. We are also concerned by the humanitarian situation facing the people in Rakhine with up to 70,000 refugees fleeing across the border into Bangladesh.
I discussed these issues with the government of Bangladesh when I visited Dhaka from 2 to 4 March. In my meetings, I welcomed the humanitarian assistance provided by Bangladesh to the Rohingya people and discussed ways in which the UK and Bangladesh could work together to encourage a durable solution for the Rohingya people in Burma.
With our international partners, we are currently negotiating a Resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where we are advocating for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma. We are also seeking to establish a mechanism which has the support of both the Burmese authorities and the international community to establish the facts and help deliver accountability for violations.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Myanmar since the publication of the report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Rohingya on 3 February 2017.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We are deeply concerned by recent reports detailing human rights violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State of Burma. These include reports by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma and by a range of international human rights organisations. We are also concerned by the humanitarian situation facing the people in Rakhine with up to 70,000 refugees fleeing across the border into Bangladesh.
I met the Burmese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, U Kyaw Tin, on 27 February at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. In the context of the report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, I stressed the need for humanitarian access and a credible investigation into reports of violations. During his recent visit to Burma in January, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), raised similar concerns with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as well as military-appointed government ministers. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns did likewise when she visited Burma last November.
I also discussed these issues with the Government of Bangladesh when I visited Dhaka from 2 to 4 March. In my meetings, I welcomed the humanitarian assistance provided by Bangladesh to the Rohingya people and discussed ways in which the UK and Bangladesh could work together to encourage a durable solution for the Rohingya people in Burma.
With our international partners, we are currently negotiating a Resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where we are advocating for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma. We are also seeking to establish a mechanism which has the support of both the Burmese authorities and the international community to establish the facts and help deliver accountability for violations.