Foreign Affairs Committee Debate

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Foreign Affairs Committee

Hannah Bardell Excerpts
Thursday 14th December 2017

(6 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Tom Tugendhat Portrait Tom Tugendhat
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The hon. Lady makes an extremely valid point. Of course, we called in this report for absolute access in various areas, and for the special representative of the Secretary-General—Special Representative Patten—to have access, as she is expected to do this week, to the capital. But that needs to go further. The hon. Lady is absolutely right that the representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees need access on the ground, not just with the Government.

Hannah Bardell Portrait Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP)
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I commend the hon. Gentleman and his Committee for the excellent report. My Scottish National party colleagues and I agree with the Committee that the UK bears significant responsibility for the international failure effectively to respond to the crisis, considering the UK’s role on the UN Security Council. Does he agree that the UK Government need to suspend their military assistance programme to end their military ties to the Burmese region?

Tom Tugendhat Portrait Tom Tugendhat
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I not only agree with the hon. Lady; I welcome the fact that the Government have already done so.