Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Burundi in relation to (1) the prosecution of members of the Movement for Solidarity and Democracy following protests last year, and (2) the human rights of opposition group members there.

We continue to raise our concerns about the diminishing political space and use of political violence during regular exchanges with the Burundian government. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), did so during a meeting with the Burundian Foreign Minister in September 2014. We have also joined EU partners in expressing our concerns publicly, most recently in the form of March EU Council Conclusions on Burundi. We were involved in the successful campaigns for the release of imprisoned activists such as Pierre Claver Mbonimpa and Bob Rugurika. Officials met Mbonimpa in his offices shortly after his release in October 2014. Our Ambassador to Burundi visited Rugurika in prison on 12 February 2015. Both meetings were publicised on social media channels to demonstrate our support for the activists and their work.