Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Hannay of Chiswick (Crossbench). It was answered on Monday, 31 March 2008.

Burma

Question: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply, depressing though it is. It illustrates well why we should not allow events in Tibet to distract us from the plight of the long-suffering people of Burma. Does it not serve to show that the Burmese regime’s dialogue with the UN Secretary-General’s special representative is little more than a sham designed to gain time while the regime rams through its own constitution? What is the international community going to do about that? On the question of humanitarian aid, the Answer was certainly more encouraging. We have imposed targeted sanctions but do we not need more, together with more targeted humanitarian aid designed to reach those who need it most?

Answer: My Lords, we believe that the United Nations should continue to play a leading role in resolving this crisis. We welcome the personal engagement of the Secretary-General. He has the support of the entire Security Council and the wider international community in taking forward his good offices mission. I agree with the noble Lord this far: we are very disappointed by the outcome of the latest visit of the UN special envoy, Mr Gambari. No progress appears to have been made by the regime in meeting the reasonable expectations of the Security Council.

Secondary information