Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps the Government has taken to tackle human rights violations against the Rohingya.

Mr Hugo Swire

We continue to press the Burmese authorities, both in public and in private, to take urgent steps to tackle the appalling situation of the Rohingya by improving security and the humanitarian situation, lifting restrictions on freedom of movement and finding a sustainable solution on citizenship. I pressed the government of Burma on this in July 2015 when I visited Rakhine State for the second time. Most recently, I raised the issue with the Burmese Foreign Minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, in September 2015 in New York.

Addressing Rakhine and the persecution of the Rohingya community is one of the most pressing challenges facing the incoming government in Burma. We will continue our efforts to address the serious human rights violations against the community with the new administration.