Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will raise with the government of Burma the persecution of Rohingya people and reports of torture and murder by the military.

We have raised our concerns over the treatment of the Rohingya people with the Government of Burma over many years. In response to the most recent violence, I raised our concerns direct with the Ministers of Defence and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, when I visited Burma from 9-11 November. In those meetings I called for an urgent resumption of humanitarian aid and an independent investigation into allegations of recent human rights violations conducted by the security forces. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Alok Sharma), raised our concerns with the Burmese Minister of Construction when he visited London on 29 November. We will continue to raise our concerns at every appropriate opportunity.