Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations made by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar in his Annual Report to the UN General Assembly.

The UK strongly supports the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar which are in line with the UK's strategic objectives to resolve the crisis. In particular, the UK has been at the forefront of the international effort to target the military's access to money and arms. The UK has announced seven tranches of sanctions since the coup, targeting the regime's credibility and their revenue streams, we are working with partners to consider further measures. The UK is clear that the international community should work to prevent the flow of arms to Myanmar. To this end we have secured a G7 commitment and a UN General Assembly Resolution which reaffirm this commitment. We are working with partners to put pressure on those who continue to sell arms to the military. The UK is clear in our condemnation of the coup and will continue to work to deny the regime credibility. We will continue to support the voices of those who oppose the coup, including the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) who have a strong democratic mandate from the November 2020 election.

As set out in the UN Special Rapporteur Report, meeting humanitarian needs remains a major priority. 70% of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's aid spend in Myanmar is being used to respond to health and humanitarian issues. As ASEAN's newest Dialogue Partner, the UK pledged a further $100k in Technical Assistance to support the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre in its response to the crisis in Myanmar and to support regional stability. The UK has provided humanitarian assistance to over 500,000 people since the coup. Our humanitarian assistance includes water and sanitation, nutrition and lifesaving food. This is delivered by the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and international and local Non-Governmental Organisations.