Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL13291):
Question Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the remarks by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, about the obligations under international law of the Myanmar security force to not use excessive force, and that they risk being prosecuted if they do so, and (2) whether members of the Myanmar security forces will be prosecuted. (HL13291)
Tabled on: 11 February 2021
Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:
We share the UN Special Rapporteur’s concerns about the worrying reports of violence against protestors in Myanmar. The Minister of State for Asia spoke to the Special Rapporteur shortly before the coup and reiterated our deep concern at human rights violations by the military. We have been clear that the state of emergency, and all restrictions on rights and freedoms, should be lifted immediately. The people’s right to a peaceful protest should be respected. The coup must end. We urge the military to exercise utmost restraint and respect human rights and international law. The military must be held accountable for their actions. We will continue to explore all options for doing this.
Date and time of answer: 25 Feb 2021 at 16:55.
