Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the recent announcement from the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh that Rohingya refugees will start to be returned from Bangladesh in November 2018, what assurances her Department has sought from the Government of Myanmar on ensuring that conditions are safe for the Rohingya people to return to Myanmar.

We are deeply concerned that Bangladesh and Burma have announced that they plan to begin repatriation of the Rohingya to Burma in mid-November. We agree with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) that the conditions for returns do not yet exist. The UK continues to raise our concerns at the highest levels with both military and civilian Ministers in the Government of Burma. The UK and the UN Security Council have been clear, we want both Burma and Bangladesh to take solid and constructive steps to create the conditions that will allow the Rohingya to return safely, voluntarily and with dignity to Rakhine state. The Rohingya need to be well-informed about the situation they may return to, and there needs to be independent international monitoring of any returns.