Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what conditions his Department plans to place on its support for the repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar with respect to the Bangladesh-Myanmar deal on that repatriation.

The Government has been clear throughout the current crisis that the Rohingya refugees who have fled into Bangladesh must be able to return to their homes in Burma safely, voluntarily and in dignity. The UK proposed and secured a UN Security Council Presidential Statement on 6 November which called for these conditions to be met and urged the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh to invite the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to participate fully in the implementation of anyreturns process

I made clear in my 20 November meeting with the Chief of Staff to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi that the UK expects that the Burmese authorities to ensure the safety and security of all Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh on their return to Burma. I also discussed the agreement with Bangladesh Minister of State Shahriar Alam on 30 November, setting out that any returns should be voluntary, safe, and in dignity.
The agreement signed on 23 November between the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh includes a commitment from the Government of Burma to allow refugees who fled to Bangladesh since October 2016 to return to their original places of residence in Burma or a safe and secure place of their choice. The UK will work with international partners to ensure any returns take place in line with international norms and under international monitoring.