Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the government of Burma has taken steps to implement the declaration to end sexual violence which it signed in June 2014.

While we welcomed the Burmese government’s endorsement of the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and attendance at the Global Summit in June 2014, their implementation of the commitments contained within it has been limited.

We continue to raise the issue of sexual violence with the Burmese government, as I did I when I met Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw in June 2014. Most recently, my Right Hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), in her capacity as Champion for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, discussed sexual violence with senior members of the Burmese government and civil society during her visit to Burma in January.

While there have been some developments, such as the conviction in a civilian court last year of a Burmese soldier for the rape of a minor, there is much more that can and should be done. We continue to encourage the Burmese government to take concrete action, by strengthening legislation, reducing impunity for perpetrators, and improving access to justice for survivors.

The Declaration also commits the international community to support conflict-affected states in strengthening their capacity to prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict. The UK has allocated over £300,000 to projects doing this in Burma. The prevention of sexual violence in conflict is also a key element of our defence engagement with Burma and is included, along with the importance of human rights and the rule of law, in any education courses we deliver to the military in Burma.