Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of financial sanctions relating to Burundi.

The EU adopted restrictive measures, including the use of sanctions, against Burundi on 1 October 2015 following violence during the Presidential elections in 2015. These measures are a means of holding the perpetrators of human rights violations to account and encouraging both positive change in relation to political freedoms and inclusive political dialogue ahead of elections in 2020. Working with our international partners, the UK designs sanctions regimes, provides evidence for designations, and encourages cooperation to ensure that sanctions are used to achieve shared political goals, and that sanctions are properly implemented and enforced to secure maximum impact. The Office for Financial Sanctions implementation works to ensure that financial sanctions are properly understood, implemented and enforced in the UK.