Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-16.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will call for an end to impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in Burma.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have repeatedly called for an end to impunity for rape and other forms of sexual violence in Burma. We are focused on practical action to tackle these issues and are persistent in applying pressure to the Burmese government to live up to the commitments it made when it endorsed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict at the London Global Summit in June 2014. We will maintain that approach and raise this issue with the new Burmese government at the earliest opportunity.
During his visit to Burma in July 2015, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), pressed the Burmese government at Senior Ministerial level on the issue. He also launched the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence. We continue to raise the issue in international fora, including through UN resolutions on Burma at the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council which we co-sponsor.
