Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Thai Government on the treatment of (a) Karen and (b) Shan refugees in that country.

The British Government pays close attention to the situation of Karen and Shan refugees in nine camps along Thailand's border with Burma. DFID has committed to spend £6.7 million over the period 2016-2020 to support these camps. Our Ambassador to Burma, DFID staff from Burma and an official from the British Embassy Bangkok visited Mae La and Ban Mai Nai Soi camps in October 2018 and also met representatives of the Shan, Karenni and Karen communities to stress the UK's commitment to Burma's peace process. Our Embassy in Bangkok has asserted in meetings with the Thai Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs that conditions are not in place for these refugees to return to Burma.