Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement made by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi during a public meeting on 15 March in Bago that she would seek to address the discrimination against members of religious minorities so that they could exercise their rights as prescribed in the Constitution of Myanmar; and the subsequent demand by local authorities that trustees of the mosques in Bago were asked to sign a written note declaring that “the Office of Labour, Immigration and Population does not practice discrimination against members of the Islamic faith in their applications for their citizenship scrutiny cards.”

The British Government continues to raise our concern at restrictions on freedom of religion and belief in Myanmar; reports of the misuse of power by local authorities are worrying. I raised the UK's concerns about the persecution of minorities in Myanmar in his speech to the Human Rights Council last February, and we continue to raise the issue with the Government of Myanmar. We welcome public statements from the civilian government about their intentions to address discrimination, and continue to call for all parts of government to support tangible steps towards equality, inclusivity and tolerance across Myanmar.