To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the governments of Burma and Bangladesh on the Rohingya people in those countries; and if he will make a statement.
Answered on
9 January 2017
The Government is deeply concerned about the welfare of the Rohingya community in Burma, especially in light of a number of security operations launched in response to the attack on police posts on 9 October. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and our Ambassador in Rangoon have raised our concerns at the highest levels with the Government of Burma on a number of occasions in recent weeks. On 29 November I raised the issue of the Rohingya with the visiting Burmese Minister for Construction, and relayed calls for the immediate resumption of humanitarian access to Northern Rakhine. I reiterated our call for an independent investigation into allegations of human rights abuses. In a meeting with the Bangladesh High Commissioner, also on 29 November, I welcomed the existing humanitarian assistance provided by the Bangladesh Government to date and urged the government not to return into danger people who seek refuge in Bangladesh.