Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the people responsible for crimes committed against Rohingya children are held to account; and if he will make it his policy to provide humanitarian support and protection for Rohingya refugee children.

The UK has been clear that those responsible for serious human rights violations should be held to account. We will continue to shine a spotlight on gross human rights violations committed by the Myanmar Military across the country. This includes horrific violence against children. The UK has been at the forefront of international demands for accountability. We have used our role on the UN Security Council to increase international attention on the Rohingya crisis and continue to lead calls for accountability. On 23 June, I spoke to the Myanmar Minister for International Cooperation. I encouraged Myanmar to continue to engage with the International Court of Justice process in a transparent way. The UK has worked with partners to try and implement the Fact Finding Mission recommendations, including establishing the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar to collect and preserve evidence of atrocities. On 6 July, the UK's Global Human Rights sanction regime (GHR) listed the Myanmar military's Commander-in-Chief and Deputy Commander-in-Chief, for overseeing the systematic and brutal violence against the Rohingya and other minorities, as set out in the Independent Fact Finding Mission Report. This is in addition to the sanctions which the UK secured through the EU, against 14 members of the Myanmar military responsible for serious human rights violations.

The UK is committed to protecting the most vulnerable populations around the globe including the Rohingya, and especially children. We work with humanitarian partners such as UNICEF in the Rohingya response to deliver robust child protection systems. UK aid is helping run community-based child protection and child-friendly centres in the Rohingya camps and supporting 3,000 children living with foster families, including victims of trafficking, to receive cash assistance, case management and psycho-social support. Improving access to and quality of education also remains a priority, including the roll out and expansion of the Myanmar curriculum.