Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the 2 September 2020 joint statement of Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on intervention in The Gambia v. Myanmar case at the International Court of Justice, what support he plans to give to The Gambia in that case.

UK officials were notified on 2 September of The Netherlands and Canada's intention to intervene in Gambia's case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). We continue to monitor proceedings closely and will consider carefully whether a UK intervention would add value to the merits of the case. We have been clear in our support for the ICJ process, which is putting pressure on Myanmar to protect the Rohingya, to deal with the deep rooted issues in Rakhine State and to work towards genuine accountability. The UK provided funding to support Rohingya activists to attend the hearings in December. We welcomed the International Court of Justice's decision on provisional measures and we continue to urge the Government of Myanmar to comply with the ruling. Following a request from the UK and partners, the UN Security Council met to discuss the ICJ's decision on provisional measures. In our statement to the Council, we urged Myanmar to abide by the provisional measures.