Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many of the recommendations set out by the British High Commission in Dhaka and his Department's Preventing Sexual Violence in their Conflict Initiative in the Bangladesh Sexual and Gender Based Violence Assessment from November 2017 the Government has implemented.

The assessment carried out by two deployable civilian experts in Bangladesh in November 2017 provided valuable recommendations on political engagement; international coordination; support for survivors; evidence gathering; prevention of further crimes including sexual violence; and human trafficking. The FCO and DFID are working closely together and with domestic and international partners in order to implement all of the recommendations

We regularly engage with the Government of Bangladesh on the response to the crisis, both at ministerial and official level. DFID has deployed expert advisers who are strengthening sectoral and inter-sectoral coordination, including by funding the UN gender-based violence coordinator based in Dhaka. DFID's implementing partners are providing lighting at household level as well as lighting in water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and other areas of the camps.

In March, the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) Team of Experts carried out initial capacity building on evidence gathering in line with the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Further UK PSVI Team of Expert deployments are scheduled in July focusing on mapping and coordination of evidence gathering to date. This mapping will inform further capacity building later in the year which will support Bangladeshi evidence gatherers on investigation and documentation of sexual violence according to international standards.