Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on sexual assault of ethnic Chin women and children from Burma in New Delhi, India; and if he will make a statement.

We are aware of such reports. We are committed to working with the new Indian government and international partners to address the problem of gender-based violence, human trafficking and child exploitation in India. Through the Department for International Development's (DFID) programmes, we support measures in India's 120 poorest districts to promote the empowerment and access to benefits and services of excluded and vulnerable groups. Through DFID, we also provide support to national and state authorities in India helping girls to complete basic education and further tackling violence against women and girls.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), invited the Indian government to attend the recent Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and has already discussed the initiative with the new Indian Foreign Minister. The Indian High Commissioner to the UK attended the Summit.