Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help encourage freedom of the press in Myanmar.

The UK has led a strong, coordinated international response to the coup and the crackdown on rights and freedoms. We used our UN Security Council Presidency to urgently convene the Council following the coup and secured a unanimous statement of condemnation on 4 February. In response to the deteriorating situation in Myanmar we convened the Council again on 5 March and secured a UN Security Council Presidential Statement on 10 March calling for the protection of human rights and freedoms. We co-led a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 12 February and secured a unanimous resolution which called for the protection of press freedom and journalists. Our Embassy in Yangon has worked closely with partners to highlight the draconian measures limiting freedom of speech in Myanmar and to coordinate joint statements on these issues. We continue to condemn the deliberate disruption of communications to limit freedom of expression and press freedom as well as the intimidation and arbitrary detention of journalists. Journalists must be allowed to carry out their job without fear or threat of violence.

The UK has consistently raised the issue of freedom of expression and press freedom internationally both with partners and at the UN. The unanimous statements at the UN Security Council on 4 March and 10 March called for the respect of human rights and freedom of expression, as did the resolution passed at the Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 12 February.