Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-10-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussion they have had with the government of Burma to ensure that Rohingya are given full humanitarian access to camps, and the protection which enables them to return home or be given safe voluntary resettlement.

Baroness Verma

British Government Ministers take every appropriate opportunity to raise the plight of the Rohingya community with their Burmese counterparts. Most recently, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), did so with the Burmese Foreign Minister in New York on 29 September. During his visit to Burma in July, Mr Swire travelled to Rakhine State to see the situation there at first hand, and raised the situation of the Rohingya at a senior level both in Rakhine and with Burmese central government ministers. The UK’s Deputy Head of Mission, accompanied by DFID officials, visited northern Rakhine State on 5-8 October and discussed freedom of movement for those in internally displaced person camps with Rakhine State Chief Minister, U Mya Aung.

DFID is one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors in Rakhine, and has provided over £18 million since 2012.