Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure the proper implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UN and the government of Myanmar signed in June under which the government of Myanmar undertook to create “safe and dignified” conditions, including guaranteed security, freedom of movement, and citizenship pathways, for Rohingya refugees returning to Rakhine State from Bangladesh.

The British Ambassador raised the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in his meeting with Burma's Minister for Social Welfare on 9 August. He called for progress on the issues covered by the MoU and pressed the Burmese authorities to grant UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UNHCR unfettered access to northern Rakhine State. The UK's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, speaking during the 24 October meeting of the UN Security Council, raised the UK's concern that UNDP and UNHCR continue to be denied access to large parts of Rakhine. We will continue to press for full implementation of the MoU and the creation of conditions in northern Rakhine to allow the safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees.