Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterparts in the Government of Myanmar through the office of the Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict on the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict and the use of rape as a weapon of war.

The Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, made a statement at the 36th session of the Human Rights Council on 11 September which made clear that the UK strongly condemned all violence in Rakhine State and called on all parties to de-escalate tensions and address the humanitarian crisis.

We continue to raise issues of conflict-related sexual violence with the Burmese authorities. In particular we urge them to accept a visit by the Fact Finding Mission established under the UK-sponsored Human Rights Council Resolution in March and to investigate allegations of sexual violence in a thorough and transparent manner in accordance with the principles and best practice set out in the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict.