Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has met representatives of the Women's League of Burma to discuss rape and sexual violence in that country.

The Women’s League of Burma (WLB) was one of several civil society and religious organisations invited by the Government to attend the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in June. I met representatives of many of these organisations at a roundtable during the Summit to hear their views and concerns first-hand, but unfortunately no WLB representatives were able to attend. They were, however, able to meet officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and attend much of the Global Summit. Officials in London and Rangoon remain in contact with the WLB, along with other non-governmental organisations working to address the issue of sexual violence in Burma.