Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, has been made as to whether gems and precious stones from Myanmar sold by British retailers could have been used to finance the Myanmar military.

We are clear that UK businesses trading with Myanmar should conduct thorough due diligence to ensure their operations are not benefiting the military regime. We have strengthened our Overseas Business Risk Guidance to warn companies of the risks associated with Myanmar's extractive sector. We will also continue to consider a range of sanctions targets that reduce the regime's access to finance, arms and equipment. To date, we have sanctioned the following mining companies for providing economic resources to the Myanmar Security Forces: Myanmar Gems Enterprise, Myanmar Pearl Enterprise, Mining Enterprise 1 and Mining Enterprise 2.