Today the British Parliament held a debate on religious persecution in Myanmar, moved by Jim Shannon MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief. Burma Campaign UK briefed MPs beforehand and many raised issues we had highlighted, including it being more than a year since any new sanctions on the Burmese military, and cuts in UK aid.
MPs praised BCUK for our work. Seema Malhotra MP, Foreign Office minister for Indo-Pacific, said: “I thank those in the Burma Campaign … who continue to bring a lot of information to Parliament.” Luke Akehurst MP and Catherine West MP commended BCUK on the consistency of its support for human rights.
The 90 minute debate concluded with a request that the Government commit to publishing regular assessments of freedom of religious belief and human rights in Myanmar, using independent monitoring.