Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the announcement by the government of Myanmar of a four-month ceasefire by the military from 10 May until 31 August in order to contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19 not applying to Rakhine and Chin States.

The escalation of violence in Rakhine and Chin States in the first quarter of this year was alarming. The Myanmar Military's unilateral ceasefire is a step forward, but as the UK Government set out at the UN Security Council on 14 May, the ceasefire must be extended to Rakhine and Chin to de-escalate the violence and reduce tensions between armed actors and impacts on civilians. The situation in Paletwa township in Chin State remains grave, and reports of communities being harassed and intimidated by armed actors are concerning. The Minister of State for Asia recently spoke to the Myanmar Ambassador to the UK and called on the Government of Myanmar to work to de-escalate fighting in Rakhine and Chin in order to prioritise the Covid-19 response.