Myanmar: Human Rights

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Stepney) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I am grateful to Burma Campaign UK for its support, as well as to other non-governmental organisations that have supported the all-party parliamentary group on Burma. Burma Campaign UK provides secretariat support to the APPG, which I co-chair with the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt). I congratulate him on securing this very important debate. I also thank him for his leadership on this issue both when he was Foreign Secretary and my party and I were in opposition, and from the Back Benches, and for his support to those of us who are campaigning on the plight of the Rohingya Muslims. Almost 1 million were expelled to Cox’s Bazar in neighbouring Bangladesh, and for seven years they have remained in the camps there. It is a population similar to that of Wales, and they are in horrific circumstances, so I am grateful for the support that the right hon. Member has provided.

Today we are debating the ongoing deterioration of human rights in Myanmar/Burma. Initially it was ethnic groups—the largest being the Rohingya population, although there were other ethnic groups—but now it is the whole population who face persecution by the Burmese military.

[Catherine West (Hornsey and Friern Barnet) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that, relative to the other crises in the world, in Sudan, Gaza and other places, the long-running and tragic dispute between the regime and the many people who live in Myanmar/Burma deserves much more attention—not just in this House, which is what we are providing as Back Benchers, but from the Government?

[Rushanara Ali]

I absolutely agree and I thank my hon. Friend for her work, in both opposition and government, on this very important issue.

It is five years since the military coup, and what we have seen is further deterioration of the situation. Despite the heroic resistance and international condemnation, the military have instituted a regime of repression and violence on a massive scale. Military abuses are widespread, and 3.6 million people have been internally displaced. That is on top of the 1 million who were forced out to neighbouring countries. According to Amnesty International, military atrocities, which include war crimes and crimes against humanity, have escalated as the junta has sought to entrench its rule through abusive military operations and stage-managed elections.

Armed conflict has also escalated further. The Burmese military are also stepping up airstrikes targeting health facilities and civilians, using deadly double-tap airstrikes for the first time. The regime has restricted freedom of speech, the media and the internet. As well as experiencing restrictions on human rights, the people are paying a huge economic price.

I visited Myanmar twice before the military coup, and the situation was already bad, but this is significantly worse. In Rakhine state, we saw massive human rights violations against the Rohingya Muslims, but also other minorities. At that time, 100,000 people were internally displaced. Their circumstances are even worse because of the conflict there. Many international investors have of course pulled out, and the economic circumstances have got worse.

In the UK, over the years before the military coup, a huge amount of work was done from the Back Benches to get our Government to play a strong leadership role. I am proud of the work that we did on a cross-party basis, which led to Britain playing a leading role in ensuring that people spoke up and sought a referral to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Our strong historical ties leave us with not just a special responsibility, as the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash pointed out, but an expectation from the people of Myanmar that we will stand with them in their struggle for human rights and democracy.

Following the 2021 military coup, the UK co-ordinated with global allies on the imposition of targeted sanctions, which limited the access of the Myanmar military to revenue and arms. In the absence of progress on a UN-mandated global arms embargo, which we campaigned for, we successfully lobbied countries to unilaterally impose their own arms embargoes. We joined international justice initiatives such as the Rohingya genocide case at the ICJ and publicly supported the referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. I am grateful to Philippe Sands and others who have been involved with that work.

That did not happen by accident. It happened because Members of Parliament worked together to ensure that the UK Government supported the ICJ referral. However, we are going backwards. We are now at risk of losing that momentum and jeopardising our position of leadership on this critical issue.

Like the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash, I recognise that there are huge pressures on our country, with conflicts raging in the middle east, Ukraine and elsewhere, but we have a responsibility to take action. We have seen that, when we work with our allies, we can make a difference.

Sadly, no new sanctions targeting the Myanmar military have been imposed since 2024 and since my party came into government. That is deeply disappointing and I hope that the Minister will work with us to look at what more we can do on sanctions.

In the following year, the number of airstrikes by the Myanmar military almost doubled. The tactics of the military have also changed. It is moving away from airstrikes mainly targeting frontlines to a greater focus on civilian targets, including health facilities. Tactics have since changed again, with several jets engaging in airstrikes simultaneously, dropping a far greater number of bombs.

Given the escalating human rights violations, the British Government should be doing everything they can to identify and sanction sources of revenue and arms and to encourage our allies to do the same.

I call on the Minister to make sure that we work with our partners. We have not joined Canada in sanctioning the jet fuel sector, despite the humanitarian and economic impacts of airstrikes, let alone the lives lost. We have not joined the European Union and the United States of America in sanctioning Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise—the military-controlled body responsible for oil and gas extraction and a major source of revenue to the Myanmar military. We have not joined the United States of America in sanctioning international telecommunications company, Myanmar Mytel, which is not only a military joint-venture company that provides revenue to the military, but is also used to track and arrest human rights activists.

There are a number of other sanctions that other countries have been party to that we have not. I call on the Minister to look at those areas and to work with our partners on that.

I look forward to working with Ministers in the Foreign Office, as well as the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash and other members of the all-party parliamentary group, to make sure that we take action to stand with the Burmese people and to ensure that they get justice.

Proposed Chinese Embassy

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra]

I thank the shadow Minister for her remarks. First, in relation to the Prime Minister’s visit, any prime ministerial or ministerial travel will be confirmed in the usual way. Secondly, it is right, and we are clear, that the planning decision is one for the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to take independently and that that decision is made in a quasi-judicial capacity. It is also important to say that the decision on the embassy will be taken in the proper way, regardless of any attempts at pressure from anyone, and we have been clear throughout that this is a planning decision for MHCLG Ministers.

It is important to recognise that national security is the first duty of Government—the shadow Minister will understand that more than anyone, given her own background—and we will always act to protect it. It is taken extremely seriously by the Home Office and the Foreign Office. It will be important that we continue to ensure that we have conversations, as we do routinely, with our allies and with the US, and that we take into account any security and intelligence, which we also share on a routine basis, in relation to China. As I have already mentioned, where there are concerns about national security, it is important that our intelligence services are involved throughout, and a range of measures have been developed and are being implemented.

I am sure that these matters will continue to be part of the debate, and that the Minister for Security, my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley North (Dan Jarvis), will address them further. It is also important that we continue to ensure that there is a focus on security and, in relation to concerns about those who may experience attempts under transnational repression, that we continue to stand up for the safety and security of all our people in the United Kingdom.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Stepney) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend will be aware that the site of the proposed embassy is in my constituency. I have relayed the concerns of my constituents to the Government on a number of occasions. They are concerned about the security issues, about the human rights record of the Chinese Government and about local disruption as a consequence of the development. As she will be well aware, these concerns have been highlighted on several occasions, including in statements in the House. What assurances can the Government provide to my constituents and others with serious concerns about the proximity of the proposed embassy to critical and sensitive communication cables serving the City of London and the local area? I would be grateful if she could take that into account.

[Seema Malhotra]

I know that my hon. Friend has raised her concerns a number of times. I reiterate that national security considerations are always the first duty of any Government, and the security and intelligence agencies have been involved throughout this process. As I noted in my opening remarks, the two national security issues that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Home Office made public as part of the planning process have now been addressed. If the planning application for a new embassy in Tower Hamlets is approved, China has committed to replace seven sites that make up its diplomatic footprint in London with the new embassy, which will also bring clear security advantages. I am sure that my hon. Friend will continue to have conversations with her local council and with the Government in due course.

War in Gaza

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Tuesday 7th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

As I have said to the House before, I do not think it is helpful to use terms such as “genocide”. It is important that the House recognises that the findings of the International Court of Justice have been misrepresented in that respect. Joan Donoghue, a former president of the ICJ who was still serving at the time of the preliminary decision, stated that the ICJ

“did not decide that the claim of genocide was plausible”.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

The Minister talks about a pause; the United Nations voted for a resolution calling for a ceasefire. The Minister is now talking about looking at Israeli military plans for Gaza, when the international community has thus far made it clear that there should not be an invasion of Gaza. It feels as if he is going backwards. His Government have so far failed to restore UNRWA funding, which is making the matter and the misery worse. He has failed to take action to ensure that the Government support the implementation of the ICJ’s provisional measures and the International Criminal Court investigation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. He has a good track record, but he is failing us by taking us backwards on this important issue. When will he take action on those specific measures?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Can we speed up questions? Otherwise, some people will not get in.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Monday 29th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

That is why the Government have paused future payments. However, I should also make it clear that during my discussion this morning with Philippe Lazzarini, who runs UNRWA, I specifically welcomed the news that he will commission a totally independent review so that its conclusions will be unimpeachable. That means discussions with the US State Department, including US congressional interests, with the European Union and with the United Kingdom, and the engagement of respected individuals who might assist. It is that quality of investigation that is now required to satisfy not only my hon. Friend, but many others on both sides of the House who are extremely concerned about this.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

Can the Minister explain what impact the review, and the time it will take, will have on the aid that is provided to people? I recognise what he has said about what will happen in the future, but it is important for us to understand what the humanitarian impact of this change will be while the investigations happen. Given his great record of campaigning against genocide and for genocide prevention, can he also address the point about how the UK Government will speak to our Israeli counterparts to ensure that Israel follows the prevention order that is so desperately needed, as has been highlighted by the ICJ case?

[Mr Mitchell]

For many years, the hon. Lady and I have shared a deep concern about the question of aid getting through. I can tell her that while we are temporarily pausing any future funding of UNRWA while we review these appalling allegations, we are absolutely committed to ensuring that humanitarian aid gets into Gaza for the people who need it so desperately. We do, of course, work with other organisations: the British Red Cross, UNICEF and the World Food Programme, which has been essential in bringing vital supplies from Jordan into Gaza. However, as I said in response to the shadow Foreign Secretary, the infrastructure that UNRWA has inside Gaza will always be fundamental to getting humanitarian relief to the people who need it.

Israel and Palestine

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Monday 8th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend will have seen extensive comment on that and she will also have followed the development of Security Council resolution 2720, which Britain was effective in ensuring was agreed. A sustainable ceasefire is one that enables us to get relief into Gaza and we are doing everything we can to try to achieve that objective.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

The only way this war is likely to be brought to an end is through Government pressure—US pressure on the Israeli Government, and the Arab countries playing their part in applying pressure on Hamas. In the absence of such pressure, can the Minister, who has a good track record on campaigning against genocide, certainly in relation to the International Court of Justice case of The Gambia against Myanmar, look at how that ICJ case on genocide prevention can be used to apply pressure and prevent the Israeli Government from indiscriminate attacks on civilians?

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Lady may rest assured that we, together with our American allies and others, are seeking to exert pressure on those involved in this conflict in the way she describes, but I caution her against seeing any analogy between the Gambian-led case at the ICJ and the South African case over Israel and Gaza.

Israel and Gaza

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Tuesday 19th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. We are determined that we will end up with a situation where the Palestinians can run their own territory, where the Arab states are heavily involved, and where a political initiative is regionally led. Lots of international work, support and help is required, but we have to get to a point where we can see that political track take shape.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

Ahead of today’s UN Security Council vote, a group of foreign policy and military experts, including the former chief of the UK armed forces, General Richards, have called for the Foreign Secretary to support an immediate ceasefire at the UN Security Council. Many have long argued for that, but it can be achieved at the UN Security Council only if the US stops vetoing resolutions. I welcome what the Minister has said about hoping that the UK will support such a resolution, but can he say more about what our Government are doing in the next two hours to convince the US at the minimum to abstain on the resolution to allow it through, or to support it?

Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Monday 4th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Leo Docherty]

I agree with my right hon. and learned Friend that these are deeply shocking reports. They are sadly, and very painfully, characteristic of the kind of terrorist violence that we have come to expect from Hamas, and we deeply condemn them.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit Qatar with a parliamentary delegation. We met Dr al-Ansari, one of the official spokespersons, with Egypt, the US, Israel and others, involved in the negotiations to release hostages and secure the temporary humanitarian truce. It was clear that this was a fragile truce that required greater pressure from the international community on all relevant parties—from middle east countries such as Qatar on Hamas, and from the US and the UK on the Israelis—to bring an end to this bloodshed. What are our Government doing, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a G7 nation, to ensure that work is done to bring an end to the bloodshed and secure a permanent ceasefire? That is what people of all backgrounds and communities need. We need a peacebuilding process; we need our Government to act. What are our Government doing?

[Leo Docherty]

We continue to use all levers at our disposal to argue for another humanitarian pause. Regrettably, it seems that discussion of a ceasefire is premature, given that Hamas are committed to the destruction of the state of Israel. We are resolutely committed to another humanitarian pause, and we are using all means that are available to us to argue for it.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Tuesday 14th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

I will be travelling to Egypt tonight, but the discussions that are going on are about the hostages and the humanitarian situation, which I have explained extensively today. There are also discussions about the politics and how we move on. Those discussions are going on not just within the British Government, but with our partners, allies and like-minded parties overseas—in particular, through the extraordinary diplomatic reach of the British Foreign Office with all the countries in the region, which of course care as much as we do about the appalling loss of life.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

In 2010, the then UK Prime Minister, now the Foreign Secretary, condemned the blockade of Gaza as a “prison camp”. The siege conditions have remained, and that is the context in which this war has claimed the lives of 11,000 civilians in Gaza, following the horrific Hamas attacks that have cost the lives of 1,400 innocent civilians and led to the hostage taking of over 200 people. The reality is that the longer the Gaza war continues, the more palpable is the danger of further contagion not only in the west bank and Jerusalem, but across the region. We could be on the precipice of a regional war, and of tensions enduring beyond Gaza and Israel and causing full-scale conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. That is why it is imperative for our Government to work with international partners to seek the cessation of hostilities and to work for an enduring humanitarian ceasefire. So much is at stake here, and it is for our Government to take that leadership role. I call on the Minister to do so.

[Mr Mitchell]

The hon. Member has set out with great eloquence the issue before us, and it underlines the absolute necessity to get back on to a political track as swiftly as we can.

Occupied Palestinian Territories: Humanitarian Situation

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Wednesday 8th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Mitchell]

It is not for the Government to make such an assessment; it is for lawyers and a court to do so. The critical thing is that Britain makes it clear that all countries must abide by international humanitarian law and the rules of war.

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

Over 10,000 people have already been killed in Gaza in the past month—more than were killed in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide. There are grave concerns that starvation is being used as a weapon of war against 400,000 civilians in the north of Gaza. That is illegal under international law. The UN Secretary-General and a number of others have talked about the need for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and a halt to the spiral of escalation already taking place, from the west bank to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. I recognise the position across the two main parties on a ceasefire, but 120 countries in the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce. That has not been achieved either. The Government talk about humanitarian pauses, yet our Government have abstained on UN resolutions. What are the Government doing to use their influence at the international level to stop the bombardment, so that at the very least aid can get in?

[Mr Mitchell]

As I set out in my statement, we are engaged on all those matters and doing everything we can, through Britain’s very strong diplomatic network, which means that we are engaged and connected to almost all the relevant parties in this matter, and that will continue.

British Nationals Detained Overseas

Rushanara Ali Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2023 Westminster Hall

[Ms Rimmer]

I agree with my hon. Friend; of course we should be doing that. It is about justice, not rigged justice.

The use of foreign lawyers by both prosecution and defence is a long-established tradition in Hong Kong. Only last month, the Foreign Secretary met the Chinese Vice-President, Mr Han, known as the architect of China’s crackdown in Hong Kong. The Foreign Secretary raised the case of Mr Lai, but did not go far enough. It is British values that are on trial: the values of freedom and democracy, which we signed a treaty to uphold. The Prime Minister should raise this with the Chinese regime at the highest possible level.

Cases of British citizens being detained abroad are not limited to the middle east and Asia. In 2021, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, a British citizen, was abducted by Nigerian security forces in Nairobi, Kenya. Since his detention, he has been subjected to torture and many other unpleasantries. A United Nations Human Rights Council report released a damning assessment of the Nigerian Government’s treatment and called for his immediate release.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) has worked tirelessly on behalf of Mr Kanu and is urging the Foreign Secretary to do more to secure his release. Nigeria is a Commonwealth nation that receives tens of millions in UK aid; it is one of the biggest beneficiaries. As part of that aid support, there must be a commitment to human rights and upholding the right to a fair trial. Mr Kanu must be given access to a fair and due process. A British citizen travelling on a British passport should not be kidnapped in a third country and dragged to a Nigerian prison. The Government need to get much tougher.

Another case I will raise is that of Alaa Abd-El Fattah, a British-Egyptian activist who was detained in Egypt. Once again, he has been detained and denied fair and due process. He even took to hunger strike in prison to protest against his treatment. The Egyptian authorities also denied his British citizenship and refused British consular support. Our Government need to insist that Mr Abd-El Fattah gets that assistance.

Only this week, the Foreign Office was told by the parliamentary ombudsman to make a formal apology to Matthew Hedges, who was accused of spying and tortured in the United Arab Emirates. The Foreign Office failed to do its duty to Mr Hedges, a British citizen being tortured by a country we consider one of our closest allies in the region. The chief executive of the ombudsman’s office, Rebecca Hilsenrath, described Mr Hedges’ experience as a “nightmare” that was

“made even worse by being failed by the British Government.”

Quite frankly, that is not good enough, and it calls into question whether the current guidelines need reviewing.

The cases that I have raised are examples. There are many others that I could have gone into, and I am sure that other colleagues present may well do so. I appreciate that these cases are often complex and no country is the same when it comes to Foreign Office engagement. However, there is much more we can do, especially with countries that we financially support. We can also work with our allies to take a much tougher stance on state hostage taking in countries such as Iran.

Many British citizens detained abroad do not even get the necessary consular assistance. That is why Labour is looking to introduce a legal right to consular assistance, which I am sure that the shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Catherine West), will go into in further detail. Consular support to British citizens must be a given. After all, it is the first duty of Government to look after their citizens.

[Rushanara Ali (in the Chair)]

I remind all hon. Members who wish to speak to bob. I call Daniel Kawczynski.

[Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (Con)]

Thank you, Ms Ali, for calling me to speak in this debate. I very much agree with the comments of the hon. Member for St Helens South and Whiston (Ms Rimmer) about the importance of how a country supports its citizens overseas when they are in distress, in particular in prisons. I congratulate her on securing this important debate.

I will speak briefly on behalf of my constituent, Saiful Chowdhury, who is a leading member of the Muslim community in Shrewsbury and does a great deal to support our mosque. He contacted me because of his two cousins, Murad Rahman Khan and Yadur Rahman Khan. They were at the airport in Dubai in February 2023, trying to secure a wheelchair for their elderly mother. They were travelling as a family, with their elderly mother and their children, on holiday in Dubai. They tried to secure a wheelchair because their mother had difficulties walking, but the staff were unhelpful, rude and confrontational.

Unfortunately, that led to a verbal confrontation between the two British citizens and the airport staff, resulting in them being convicted to a six-month jail sentence. They are appealing, but their passports have been stamped to prevent them from leaving the United Arab Emirates. They are in a hotel at their own expense. They have spent thousands and thousands pounds already on accommodation since February, while they wait for their court process to be concluded.

The Minister is a very good and responsive Minister, and I would like him to take a particular interest in this case. The reason why I feel compelled to raise it is that some of the allegations put forward include no CCTV evidence being presented to the court. The defendants are keen for that to be shown to demonstrate that the altercation was purely verbal, rather than physical in any way, and yet the authorities refuse to allow CCTV evidence from the airport. That is the allegation. Another concern relates to the repeated refusal of the Emirati authorities to facilitate ongoing and effective dialogue and communication with the defendants, our British embassy officials and indeed their lawyers. My concern is also about the length of time taken to date.

The hon. Member for St Helens South and Whiston mentioned the United Arab Emirates as one of our closest partners in the middle east. I would go further: it is the closest British ally in the middle east. We have extensive commercial and political links with the Emiratis. I am extremely concerned to hear about this case, and I will give the Minister the details, via his Parliamentary Private Secretary, the hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Cherilyn Mackrory). I will be extremely grateful if the Minister could look into it. I will also send a link to the debate to our British ambassador in the United Arab Emirates. I will be grateful to the Minister for any support that he can give to Mr Saiful Chowdhury, my constituent, who was clearly extremely concerned as to the welfare of his cousins and about the impact not just on them, but on their elderly relatives and children, who have come back to the United Kingdom and are separated from their loved ones.

[Rushanara Ali (in the Chair)]

I call Sir Chris Bryant.

--- Later in debate ---

[Martin Docherty-Hughes]

Very quickly—I am conscious of time.

[Rushanara Ali (in the Chair)]

Order. The hon. Gentlemen should wind up.

[Martin Docherty-Hughes]

I could talk for three hours about this subject, which is very close to my heart and my constituents. I will sum up by referring to those words on the passport—and I hope the Minister takes note. This Government, and the one that is about to replace it, need to do much more to ensure that holders of that document receive

“such assistance and protection as may be necessary.”

That means funding consular services properly. To lead is to choose, and, frankly, they have chosen badly.