Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by (a) his Department and (b) the Burmese government to prevent sexual violence in conflict in Burma.

Sexual violence in conflict remains a significant problem in Burma and we are focused on practical action to tackle it. There have been some signs of improvement since the Burmese government endorsed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, at the London Global Summit in June 2014, but we continue to press for more.

During my visit to Burma in July 2015, I pressed the Burmese government at senior ministerial level on the issue and launched the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence. The UK was also instrumental in facilitating the visit to Burma this summer of the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie Pitt. We continue to push the agenda in international fora, including through UN resolutions on Burma at the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, which we co-sponsor. At Burma’s 6 November Universal Periodic Review at the UN in Geneva, ending sexual violence and improving the rights of women and girls was a focus of our recommendations.