Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on an independent international investigation into the human rights situation in Rakhine state, Burma.

We have repeatedly called for an independent investigation into human rights violations in Rakhine state. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has already issued a substantive report on the widespread and alarming level of human rights violations carried out by the military in Rakhine State since 9 October. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma also referred to them in her press briefing following her visit in January, and in her report released on 1 March.

With our international partners, we are currently negotiating a Resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where we are advocating for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma. We are also seeking to establish a mechanism which has the support of both the Burmese authorities and the international community to establish the facts and help deliver accountability for the violations. I expressed my deep concern over the situation in Rakhine when I addressed the Human Rights Council on 28 February. I have also raised our concern directly with Burmese Ministers, most recently on 27 February with U Kyaw Tin, the Burmese Deputy Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

We also fully support the Rakhine Advisory Commission led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. I discussed with Mr Annan the Commission's interim recommendations published on 16 March. The Commission is mandated to provide advice on a long term solution to reconciling inter-communal strife in Rakhine and is due to present its final recommendations in the summer. The UK stands ready to provide any appropriate assistance to enable the Burmese authorities to implement its recommendations.