Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the government of Burma regarding implementation of the Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in the last six months; and at what levels these discussions took place.

The then-Minister of State for the Home Office, Lynne Featherstone, visited Burma in January, in her role as UK Champion for Tackling Violence Against Women. She raised this issue with senior members of the Burmese government, including Ministers of the President’s Office, U Soe Thane and U Aung Min, and also with Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw.

In our efforts to promote UNSCR 1325 (on Women, Peace and Security) in Burma, in addition to high-level lobbying, the UK has encouraged women’s full participation in the peace process, supported the drafting of forthcoming legislation on violence against women, and funded work to increase women’s participation in the electoral process. We have supported access to justice for the survivors of sexual violence. As one of the largest humanitarian donors to Kachin and Rakhine states, we have funded the coordination of activities to prevent violence against women.