Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the government of Burma to reform or repeal laws which are currently used to restrict civil society and media space, and prosecute journalists, civil society activists, human rights defenders and humanitarian aid workers in Burma.

​The British Government has been a consistent and vocal advocate of democratic freedoms in Burma, including freedom of expression. Our Ambassador to Burma met the Burmese Attorney-General on 9 August and made clear that freedom of the media was a vital safeguard in a democracy. When the Foreign Secretary met with Burmese State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on 20 September in Naypyidaw, he underlined the UK's support for continued reforms related to democracy and political freedoms and raised the case of the two Reuters journalists who have been convicted under Burma's Official Secrets Act.