Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Myanmar counterparts on the Bangladesh-Myanmar deal to return Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar.

The UK has been clear that an agreement on returning the Rohingya refugees to their homes in Burma must provide for voluntary, safe and dignified return. I made these points to the Bangladesh High Commissioner Nazmul Quaunine and Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque when they met on 2 November. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to Aung San Suu Kyi three times since this crisis began, most recently on 21 October, when he urged her to implement her commitment to ensure the return of refugees. At ASEM (20-21 November) I met with Minister of Defence U Sein Win, the Chief of Staff to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, U Kyaw Tin Swe and the Deputy Foreign Minister U Kyaw Tin and in each meeting raised the need for early returns. The principle of non-refoulement is also detailed in the United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement made on 6 November – a statement the UK was instrumental in achieving.