§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Burmese Government, citing Common Article 3 of the Geneva conventions, on its treatment of the civilian populations of the Karen, Karenni and Shan peoples. [180020]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienWe regularly raise our concerns on human rights in Burma with the Burmese regime including the suffering of ethnic groups such as Karen, Karenni and Shan peoples, most recently when I met the Burmese Ambassador on 1 June.
We look to the Burmese authorities to respect and abide by the principles of international law, including international humanitarian law, and notably all the provisions of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, to which Burma is a State Party.
The UK co-sponsored a resolution which was unanimously adopted at the UN Commission on Human Rights on 21 April that condemned human rights violations suffered by ethnic groups in Burma. The Resolution called on the regime to consider as a matter of high priority becoming party to the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions, of 12 August 1949.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will recognise as genocide the actions of the Burmese Government against the Karen, Karenni and Shan peoples. [180021]
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§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Government are one of the strongest critics of the Burmese regime's violations of human rights. There is a consistent pattern of serious violations over many years, particularly against the ethnic groups. However, the term "genocide" has a specific meaning under international law. The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Professor Sergio Pinheiro, who has visited Burma several times does not use the term to describe the situation there nor do major international NGOs, who monitor the situation in the country.