Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to refer the Government of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court for their actions towards the Rohingya.

The Foreign Secretary has made clear that referring the situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an option the UN Security Council (UNSC) should consider. To allow this discussion to happen the UK is calling for the UNSC to debate the report of the UN Fact Finding Mission.

However, our assessment remains that there is insufficient support amongst Security Council members for an ICC referral at this time. It will not advance the cause of accountability for an ICC referral to fail to win Security Council support or to be vetoed; such a result would only give comfort to the Burmese military and reduce the pressure they currently face.