Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 6 December 2016 (HL3575), what are the results of their monitoring of the government of Burma’s commitment to restoring humanitarian access to the Rohingya people; and what action will be taken to support the delivery of such access if the government of Burma fails to honour its commitment.

Humanitarian access to northern townships of Rakhine State has partially improved but remains a serious concern. Access to many areas did improve in December and January and some humanitarian assistance was able to resume. However, the most affected areas remain without substantive humanitarian access and restrictions continue to be imposed in all areas. The ability of affected people to travel in order to access assistance also remains limited. We continue to monitor this closely and continue to raise the issue of humanitarian access with authorities at local, state and national level.