Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with members of (1) the EU, or (2) the Human Rights Council, regarding including the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry into the situation in Rakhine State, Burma, in the next Human Rights Council Resolution on Burma.

A UN Commission of Inquiry can be authorised by the Security Council, the Human Rights Council or the UN Secretary General personally. Of the first two, we assess it is unlikely there would be sufficient international support for such a commission on the situation in Rakhine at this time. There are a number of countries that routinely oppose such commissions as a matter of principle, and have done so in the past. Nor do we assess there would be support for this among our likeminded partners, including the EU.

However, we continue to discuss human rights issues in Burma with our EU partners, both locally, in Rangoon and through the UK's Representation to the European Union in Brussels.

We support the Rakhine Advisory Commission led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, which does have the support of Burma's democratically elected government and the international community. The Commission's interim recommendations are expected in the spring and its final recommendations in the summer.