Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any discussions were held at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict concerning the situation in Burma.

During the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict I chaired a roundtable on the role of faith leaders and communities in tackling sexual violence. Participants included two religious leaders from Burma. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), met Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw separately during the Global Summit. They discussed a series of bilateral issues and Mr Swire raised a range of human rights concerns. Mr Swire welcomed the Burmese government’s attendance at the Summit and urged them to follow-up quickly with a credible action plan to tackle sexual violence that involved the military. Mr Swire also hosted an event for Burmese civil society, in which he welcomed the attendance of Burmese civil society and religious leaders at the Global Summit.