§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's relations with the military regime in Burma. [155225]
§ Mr. RammellWe have full diplomatic relations with Burma and continue to press the military regime to enter into a substantive and meaningful dialogue with all political parties and ethnic groups in Burma leading to national reconciliation, democratisation and full respect for human rights. We have repeatedly called on the regime to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, to release all political prisoners, and to re-open NLD offices in Burma.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress his Department is making in tackling the human rights situation in Burma(a) bilaterally and (b) in the UN. [155226]
§ Mr. RammellWe continue to raise our concerns on human rights in Burma bilaterally and through the UN at every opportunity. We co-sponsored the UN General Assembly Human Rights Resolution on Burma last December and will play an active role in the forthcoming UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. We strongly support the efforts of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, Sergio Pinheiro. The EU has repeatedly condemned Burma's lack of progress on forced labour, most recently at the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) meeting in Geneva on 20 November 2003.We fully support the work of the ILO and have called upon the Burmese authorities to end permanently the use of forced labour.