Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of on-going allegations of rape against military officials in Burma, what conditions, if any, were agreed with the government of Burma on ending the use of rape as a weapon of war prior to any training provided by the British Armed Forces.

To date, the UK has only provided one educational course to the Burmese military: ‘Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context’ - a non-combat, academic course delivered to 30 military officers and government officials in January 2014. The course covered the importance of good governance in defence and professionalism in a nation’s Armed Forces, the observation of human rights obligations and preventing sexual violence. We did not make provision of this course conditional; such education and our exchanges with the Burmese military are themselves aimed at changing mindsets.

We regularly address the issue of sexual violence by the Burmese army with the Burmese government and with the military. We continue to make clear that where serious crimes have been committed, those who have perpetrated them should be held accountable for their actions. We lobby on preventing sexual violence in conflict areas, on encouraging the Burmese military to step back from politics, and on action to tackle human rights issues such as the use of child soldiers. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), raised the issue of rape and sexual violence with the Burmese army's Commander-in-Chief and military northern commander during his visit to Burma in January. Mr Swire also urged the Burmese Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, who attended the Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict Summit in the UK in June 2014, to ensure a quick and credible action plan to implement the Declaration on Ending Sexual Violence.