Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to use Magnitsky powers to target those responsible for reported crimes against humanity in Myanmar; and what mechanisms they are establishing, if any, to bring to justice those responsible for crimes against humanity and potential genocide.

The UK has already imposed, through the EU, sanctions on 14 individuals responsible for serious human rights violations or abuses in Myanmar. This includes individuals from the Myanmar military and border guard police. When the UK leaves the EU, these listings will be maintained in an autonomous UK sanctions regime.

The UK has also announced an intention to establish a UK autonomous global human rights sanctions (‘Magnitsky’) regime once we leave the EU. A global sanctions regime would allow us to respond to serious human rights violations or abuses anywhere in the world. Though we cannot pre-announce designations, the sanctions regime could be used as a tool to hold perpetrators of serious human rights abuses or violations to account.

The UK worked through the UN Human Rights Council to establish a Fact Finding Mission, to investigate allegations of serious human rights abuses in Rakhine, and elsewhere in Myanmar. Following its initial report, we worked closely with the OIC and the EU to establish a mechanism to collect and preserve evidence of atrocities in Myanmar. The mechanism will ensure any future justice process, domestic or international, does not find that evidence has been lost or degraded. The Mechanism became operational in September.