Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Myanmar about the protection of religious minorities, including in relation to the arrest of five Christian pastors in Yangon and 12 Muslims in Mandalay, who were reportedly deemed as breaking COVID-19 curfews when praying at home.

The United Kingdom is concerned by reports that public health policies used to tackle COVID-19, such as curfews and movement control orders, have been misused to violate people's civil liberties, including freedom of expression and religious belief in Myanmar. It is vital the public health policies are applied equally to all communities and not exploited to target particular groups. We have raised our concerns about civil liberties in Myanmar with the Government of Myanmar, including at a Ministerial level. We will continue to stress that public health and security concerns should not be used to undermine fundamental freedoms. We will also continue to support Myanmar's democratisation process and moves to end Myanmar's conflict in order to address the root causes of many of the violations and abuses seen in Myanmar.