To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take diplomatic steps to support the International People's Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice in Kashmir.
This answer is the replacement for a previous holding answer.
Answered on
4 February 2021
This answer is a correction from the original answer.
The UK remains concerned about the situation in Kashmir and we continue to follow developments there closely. The Foreign Secretary raised Kashmir with his counterpart, External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar, during his visit to India in December 2020. Officials at the British High Commission in New Delhi engage regularly with human rights organisations on the situation. Any allegation of human rights abuses is deeply concerning and must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently. The UK's position remains that it is for India and Pakistan to identify a lasting political resolution to the situation, one that takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Original answer
The UK condemns the state of emergency imposed in Myanmar, and the arbitrary detention of democratically elected politicians and civil society by the military. It is essential that Aung San Suu Kyi, and all those arbitrarily detained, are released. Under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime and the Myanmar Sanctions Regime the UK had already sanctioned 16 individuals, responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar. In July 2020, we sanctioned the Commander-in-Chief and his Deputy, in our first tranche of sanctions under the Global Human Rights Sanctions regime. We are working closely with international partners to consider next steps with the aim of ensuring that democratic wishes of Myanmar's people are respected and politicians and civil society leaders are released.