Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are giving to the United Nations Special Rapporteurs who have called for the immediate and unconditional release of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo following their arrest and detention for reporting on human rights violations in Rakhine State.

The UK shares the view of the UN Special Rapporteurs for Burma and for Freedom of Expression that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo should be released without delay. The former Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Asia and the Pacific have made public calls to this effect since the journalists' arrest in December 2017, and have made official representations in meetings with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese Ambassador. The UK supports the work of all UN Special Rapporteurs. The former British Ambassador asked the Burmese Government to reverse its decision to refuse Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee access to Burma in his meeting with the Minister of the Office of State Counsellor on 11 January.