Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that the repatriation of any of the Rohingya people from Bangladesh is entirely voluntary.

The Government has been clear throughout the current crisis that the Rohingya refugees who have fled into Bangladesh must be able to return to their homes in Burma voluntarily. The UK proposed and secured a UN Security Council Presidential Statement on 6 November which called for these conditions to be met and urged the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh to invite the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to participate fully in the implementation of any returns process. The British Ambassador underlined the importance of the Government of Burma allowing UNHCR monitoring to ensure these conditions are met in his meeting with the Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor on 11 January.