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 support the documentation and investigation of sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls in Rakhine State, Burma.

​The UK has been clear about the need for the Burmese authorities to end all violence including gender-based violence in Rakhine. I urged an independent investigation of reports of atrocities and incidents of sexual violence when I met Burma's Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor on 20 November in Nay Pyi Daw​. The Foreign Secretary has raised his concerns about reports of sexual violence directly with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The UK Government has deployed two civilian experts to Bangladesh to conduct a capacity needs assessment on the investigation and documentation of sexual violence. This will provide recommendations for the UK Government to consider on support for evidence gathering: it is vital that any evidence or testimony gathered is collated in the proper way. The UK is also funding the provision of medical services, counselling and psychological support to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who have either witnessed or are survivors of sexual violence. An FCO official recently travelled with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence to meet victims and witnesses of sexual violence in Bangladeshi refugee camps; the UK is supporting the Special Representative's proposal to brief the UN Security Council on her findings.