Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

79806

registered interest
date	30/07/2014
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 24 July (HL Deb, cols 1324–8) to the debate on Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, what representations they have made to the Burmese authorities about proposed new legislation to restrict religious conversions and inter-religious marriages there; and whether they will call on the United Nations Secretary-General to visit Burma to address religious intolerance and to encourage the creation of an international and independent inquiry into violence in Rakhine State, Kachin State and other parts of the country.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL1695
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p>We have voiced our strong concerns over proposed legislation on inter-faith marriage and religious conversion to members of the Burmese government and parliamentarians. If enacted, these laws would harm religious tolerance and respect for diversity in Burma, and contravene international standards and treaties to which Burma is a signatory. Most recently, our Ambassador raised our concerns with Minister of the President’s Office, U Soe Thein, in June.</p><p>The UN Secretary-General (UNSG) currently chairs the Partnership Group on Burma, which last met in April. The UNSG and his Special Representative to Burma, Vijay Nambiar, both play vital roles in raising the international community’s human rights concerns with the Burmese government whilst providing encouragement for the wider reform process. We welcome the recent visit by the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burma, Ms Yanghee Lee, who rightly highlighted that the government needs to do more to stop the spread of hate speech and incitement to violence based on religious grounds and recommended the adoption of specific legislation to address this.</p><p>We remain deeply concerned by continued violence in Burma, particularly in Rakhine State and Kachin State. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes. Allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with through a clear, independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. We have made this clear to the Burmese government and will continue to do so. We continue to believe an independent investigation, supported by appropriate technical assistance, would make a significant contribution to accountability and reconciliation.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Anelay of St Johns question first answered 18/08/2014 09:56:23 answering member 3474 label Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

65928

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any discussions were held at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict concerning the situation in Burma.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL855
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p>During the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict I chaired a roundtable on the role of faith leaders and communities in tackling sexual violence. Participants included two religious leaders from Burma. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), met Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw separately during the Global Summit. They discussed a series of bilateral issues and Mr Swire raised a range of human rights concerns. Mr Swire welcomed the Burmese government’s attendance at the Summit and urged them to follow-up quickly with a credible action plan to tackle sexual violence that involved the military. Mr Swire also hosted an event for Burmese civil society, in which he welcomed the attendance of Burmese civil society and religious leaders at the Global Summit.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 21/07/2014 14:32:03 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

65929

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps are being taken to incorporate discussion of torture, sexual violence and other war crimes and crimes against humanity and other human rights violations in the military training provided to the Burmese army by the United Kingdom.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL856
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p>Our defence engagement with Burma is focussed on the core principles of democratic accountability, international law and human rights. UK provision of defence training to the Burma Army is limited to non-combat related academic courses. This has included a course entitled “Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context” (MDWSC). The MDWSC covers the UK model of democratic accountability, the importance of good governance in defence and the significance of professionalism in a nation’s Armed Forces, including observation of human rights obligations.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 21/07/2014 13:25:37 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

65930

registered interest
date	07/07/2014
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to persuade the government of Burma to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and what is their assessment of Burma’s position in respect of the Covenant.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL857
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text We have had a number of discussions with the Burmese government on the importance of Burma ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). At the request of the Burmese government, our Embassy in Rangoon recently funded an experts’ visit to Burma for the purpose of identifying steps that would need to be taken and issues that would need to be considered in reaching the decision to ratify the ICCPR. We hope this will lay the foundations for further action in the coming months. answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 21/07/2014 13:26:19 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

65819

registered interest
date	03/07/2014
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of reports of the use of torture in the conflict zones of Burma; and whether they consider that any such actions should be categorised as a war crime or a crime against humanity.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL811
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p>We are concerned by reports of the use of torture in conflict zones in Burma. We remain one of the most vocal and active members of the international community in supporting those calling for human rights in Burma. We regularly raise our strong concerns regarding any violations of human rights with senior members of the Burmese government and military, amongst others. We strongly support work being led by international partners, including the UN, to help Burma better understand the UN Convention Against Torture, and the steps that need to be taken as part of ratification. <br><br>It is the policy of the Government that any judgment on whether war crimes have occurred is a matter for international judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi grouped question UIN HL812 question first answered 14/07/2014 10:42:57 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

65820

registered interest
date	03/07/2014
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to urge the government of Burma to end torture in that country, to investigate reports of continuing use of torture, and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL812
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p>We are concerned by reports of the use of torture in conflict zones in Burma. We remain one of the most vocal and active members of the international community in supporting those calling for human rights in Burma. We regularly raise our strong concerns regarding any violations of human rights with senior members of the Burmese government and military, amongst others. We strongly support work being led by international partners, including the UN, to help Burma better understand the UN Convention Against Torture, and the steps that need to be taken as part of ratification. <br><br>It is the policy of the Government that any judgment on whether war crimes have occurred is a matter for international judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi grouped question UIN HL811 question first answered 14/07/2014 10:42:58 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

65821

registered interest
date	03/07/2014
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to discuss with the Burmese authorities the creation of an independent inquiry, with Burmese and international participation, into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in that country.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL813
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p>We have made clear to the Burmese government our strong concerns over the human rights situation in the country, particularly in Rakhine state and the ethnic border regions. Our priority is to seek an end to all human rights violations. We have been firm that as part of this process the culture of impunity must be properly tackled, which we believe is best achieved through a clear, independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards.</p> answering member printed Baroness Warsi question first answered 14/07/2014 10:41:18 answering member 3839 label Biography information for Baroness Warsi
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

64243

registered interest
date	26/06/2014
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Burma
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what if at all is the funding shortfall for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Burma; and what additional funding the Department for International Development is providing to fill any funding gap.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL645
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>DFID officials are in regular contact with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Burma. We have not been made aware of any critical funding shortfall for UNHCR, and have not been approached to fill any funding gap. DFID already provides a significant amount of humanitarian funding, including to UNHCR, for work with internally displaced people in Burma.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Northover question first answered 10/07/2014 16:14:19 answering member 2539 label Biography information for Baroness Northover
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool