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<p>British officials regularly receive reports on a wide range of human rights issues,
including the treatment of religious minorities in Burma. We share UN Special Rapporteur
for Burma Tomas Ojea Quintana's concerns, as noted in his final report to the UN Human
Rights Council on 2 April 2014, that the Burmese government is “not fulfilling its
international human rights obligation to tackle incitement to violence based on national,
racial or religious hatred”. We are particularly concerned by the rise in anti-Muslim
attacks and hate speech over the last two years, continued intercommunal tensions
in Rakhine State and the plight of the Rohingya. I raised our wider concerns about
the situation in Rakhine State with senior Burmese Ministers during their visit in
January and Baroness Warsi discussed the situation with the Burmese Minister of National
Planning and Economic Development, Dr Kan Zaw, during his visit to the UK in March.
During my visit to Burma in January, I also met the Kachin Baptist Convention, the
largest religious organisation in Kachin State. We continue to encourage religious
tolerance and dialogue and call on the Burmese authorities and community leaders to
help create a conducive environment for this to take place.</p>
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