Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Burmese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aung San Suu Kyi, on (a) human rights for the Rohingya and (b) reports received from human rights organisations that military forces have allegedly committed acts of physical and sexual violence against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine.

We are aware of a number of recent reports by human rights organisations indicating the Burmese military has used violence against the Rohingya during security operations in Rakhine since 9 October. We view these reports with deep concern. The Government has repeatedly raised concerns about the plight of the Rohingya community in Burma. I last raised this when I met the Burmese Minister for Construction on 29 November. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Noble Friend, the Rt Hon. Baroness Anelay of St Johns also raised our concerns with a range of Ministers including the Minister for Defence and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs when she visited Burma from 9-12 November. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Boris Johnson) visited Burma from 20-21 January 2017 and discussed with the Home Minister, who is heavily involved in the security response, the need for a restrained security approach, full humanitarian access and the importance of ending discrimination against the Rohingya. He also raised these issues with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and the new National Security Advisor, U Thaung Tun.