Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the reported human rights violations faced by the Rohingya people in Burma amount to crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

We are deeply concerned by reports of human rights violations in Rakhine State, though the lack of access makes facts hard to verify. When I visited Burma from 9-12 November, I urged Burmese Government Ministers to set up a full and independent investigation into all reports of human rights violations. We note the establishment of the Rakhine Investigation Commission, which is due to report back by 31 January 2017. I discussed its work with Kofi Annan on 20 December and we will continue to monitor its progress closely. Any judgment on whether crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide have been committed is a matter for competent national or international courts.