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224574

registered interest
date	25/02/2015
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Pakistan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Pakistan on discrimination and violence against people of minority faiths in that country.
tabling member constituency	Makerfield
tabling member printed	Yvonne Fovargue
uin	907842
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2015 answer text <p>We are deeply concerned by the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan.</p><p>On 24 February I raised UK concerns about the blasphemy law with a group of visiting Pakistani parliamentarians.</p><p>The Foreign Secretary also discussed Pakistan’s blasphemy laws with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in November 2014.</p><p>We will continue to support all efforts in promoting religious tolerance and freedom of speech in Pakistan, and call for perpetrators of human rights abuses to be brought to justice.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 03/03/2015 14:21:31 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
tabling member	4034 label Biography information for Yvonne Fovargue

78474

registered interest
date	16/07/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with the government of Burma reported threats that ethnic Rohingya identifying themselves as such in the census could face arrest.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	206292
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p>We have not received reports of anyone facing arrest for identifying themselves as Rohingya in Burma’s census; the enumeration period is now over. However, we were deeply disappointed that during the census the Burmese government went against its long-standing assurance that all individuals would have the right to self-identify their ethnic origin. We have been clear that this decision is in contravention of international norms and standards on census conduct. I discussed our concerns on the census with the senior Burmese minister responsible, Immigration Minister U Khin Yi, in March, and summoned the Burmese Ambassador in April. <br> <br>The UK, UN and other donors have been in dialogue with the Burmese government and community groups throughout the preparation, enumeration and now the data analysis and dissemination stages of the census. We have been absolutely clear that we want to see as peaceful, credible and complete a process as possible, with the anticipated risks carefully managed.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 21/07/2014 14:21:51 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

142198

registered interest
date	06/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Burmese counterpart on the release of Mr Brang Yung and Mr Lahpai Gam; and what steps he is taking to ensure that all political prisoners in Burma are released unconditionally.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	213773
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>I have raised specific political prisoner cases, but not these two individuals. Nevertheless, the cause of political prisoners has long been one the UK has championed, and it is one that we continue to raise at the highest levels. Most recently I raised our concerns with Deputy Foreign Minister Thant Kyaw in June, and both the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and the then Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) discussed political prisoners with President Thein Sein during his visit to London last year.</p><p>We welcome the release of thousands of political prisoners under the current Burmese government. However, we remain very concerned by the continued arrests, detentions and sentencing of political activists and we continue to lobby for the unconditional release of all political prisoners. I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 28 October 2014, Official Report, Column 168, in which I stated clearly that &quot;One Political Prisoner is one too many&quot;.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 11/11/2014 15:14:11 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

155488

registered interest
date	11/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many buildings his Department sold in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	214218
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td>Financial Year</td><td>2010-11</td><td>2011-12</td><td>2012-13</td><td>2013-14</td></tr><tr><td>Number of buildings sold*</td><td>25</td><td>20</td><td>17</td><td>21</td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*All sales are overseas. Sales of compounds classed as one sale.</p><p>Excludes sales of plots of land. Information has been provided by financial year as this is the form in which it is readily available. A definitive figure is not yet available for 2014-15.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 18/11/2014 16:28:22 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

166312

registered interest
date	26/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of political prisoners in Burmese prisons.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	216060
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2014 answer text Estimates of the number of political prisoners in Burma vary. Organisations such as the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPPB) monitor the figures and provide regular status updates. Their latest from October, indicates that there are 75 political prisoners remaining in Burma, down from 2,073 in March 2011. Our Embassy in Rangoon remains in close contact with the AAPPB and other civil society networks to support their work. We continue to press for the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Burma. answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 01/12/2014 17:53:36 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

166316

registered interest
date	26/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Burmese government on allowing humanitarian access to Rohingya Muslims who are displaced in Rakhine state.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	216020
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>We have raised our concerns at the situation of the Rohingya community in every one of our recent Ministerial contacts with the Burmese government. <br><br>The former Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised the situation in Rakhine State in a call with his Burmese counterpart, U Wunna Maung Lwin, in April. He called for the Burmese government to facilitate humanitarian assistance to all communities in the State. <br><br>I also raised this issue with Khin Maung Soe, Burmese Minister for Electric Power in July, as well as with the Burmese Ambassador, whom I summoned in April to register my concerns. <br><br>My hon. Friend the member for New Forest West and Minister of State for International Development (Mr Swayne), discussed Rakhine with Minister for the President’s Office, U Soe Thein in August. In October the Minister of State for International Development specifically raised the difficulty of delivering humanitarian assistance to displaced people in Rakhine with the Minister for Immigration and the Rakhine Chief Minister. <br> <br>In Rangoon our Ambassador and Embassy officials consistently discuss these concerns with representatives of the Burmese government.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 03/12/2014 13:00:06 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

166317

registered interest
date	26/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Burmese government on granting citizenship to the Rohingya.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	216018
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>This is an issue that we regularly to raise with the Burmese government and which I discussed with the Minister for Immigration and the Rakhine Chief Minister during their visit to the UK in October. While we welcome the limited citizenship verification in Taungpaw for internally displaced people that has seen some individuals from the Rohingya community granted citizenship status, we continue to urge the Burmese authorities to follow a transparent, inclusive and consistent process in establishing the status of all inhabitants of Rakhine State. We are also clear that, regardless of citizenship status, the human rights of all individuals in Rakhine must be fully respected.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 03/12/2014 13:02:23 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

166318

registered interest
date	26/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance his Department is providing to the internally displaced Rohingya.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	216019
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>UK support to internally displaced persons of Rakhine State, including the Rohingya community, is provided by the Department for International Development (DFID). In April, DFID announced an additional £5.8m humanitarian funding for Rakhine State – bringing our total allocation for humanitarian work there to £12m since 2012 and making us one of the largest bilateral donors. Our aid supports shelter, water sanitation and hygiene programmes, nutrition and protection activities, as well as non-food items for over 114,000 people. We also provide support to the United Nation’s coordination of the international humanitarian response. <br><br>The humanitarian situation in Rakhine State remains of concern. We continue to urge the Burmese government to work toward a long-term solution to bring peace and reconciliation.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 03/12/2014 13:01:28 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

166319

registered interest
date	26/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Burmese government about its Rakhine State Action Plan.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	216011
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2014 answer text <p>We welcome the Burmese Government’s efforts to develop a comprehensive plan that seeks to address the complex and interrelated challenges in Rakhine. There are, however, some aspects of the Rakhine Action Plan which would, if implemented, undermine the prospects for peaceful co-existence and stability across the State. We have made our concerns on this clear to the Burmese government, most recently when I met with the Minister for Immigration and the Rakhine Chief Minister on 7 October.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 01/12/2014 17:51:17 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

166320

registered interest
date	26/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Burma
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of fighting in Kachin State and northern Shan State in Burma.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	216008
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>The recent fighting in Kachin and Shan States, and the shelling of a training camp in Kachin which killed 23 people on 19 November, has been widely reported. We have concerns about the impact it will have on the peace process in Burma. We call for an end to the violence to allow for the resumption of meaningful negotiations towards a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 03/12/2014 13:03:02 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz