Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will draft a resolution at the UN Security Council granting the ICC leave to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes in Myanmar.

​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. The UK ensured the Head of the UN Fact Finding Mission was able to brief the UNSC on 24 October to inform the Council's discussions. 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.