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Burma

My Lords, I, too, congratulate and thank my noble friend Lord Alton on securing this debate. I apologise to him for missing his opening remarks. I do not have the experience or the extent of the involvement of my noble friends Lord Alton and Lady Cox and of the noble Lord, Lord Clarke. However, there are issues about which I want to speak. Evidence continues to emerge of gross violations of human rights perpetrated by Burma’s military regime, the State Peace and Development Council, against ethnic nationalities including the Karen, Karenni and Shan since 1992. These violations include the widespread and systematic use of rape; forced labour; forced relocation of villages; forced conscription of child soldiers; use of human minesweepers; torture; extrajudicial killings; and the destruction of villages, crops and livestock. Evidence has been documented by international organisations, including the US Government, the United Nations and human rights NGOs such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and the Jubilee Campaign. The political, economic and humanitarian situation in Burma is deteriorating rapidly. One Karen refugee said in August this year, ““The situation is getting worse by the day. If people stay in Burma, how can they get rice?””. In addition to the economic crisis in Burma, at least 1 million people are internally displaced in the jungles of eastern Burma, referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Clarke, without access to adequate food, medicine, shelter or education. Many are on the run, in hiding in the jungles, pursued by the Burmese Army. Many others are held in relocation sites under the control of the Burmese Army, where their movement is restricted, access to food, medicine and education is limited or denied, and they are used for forced labour. In addition, more than 158,000 people are in refugee camps in Thailand; at least 200,000 Shan refugees in Thailand are without provision of camps; more than 50,000 are refugees in India; and thousands in Bangladesh, Malaysia and around the world. The European Union passed an urgent resolution on 17 November calling on the UN Security Council to address the issue of Burma. The resolution also called for measures to strengthen the European Union common position on Burma, including ““encouraging a blanket prohibition”” on any new investments or loans to named Burmese state-owned enterprises by EU-registered companies. The resolution also recommended the creation of a European Union special envoy on Burma. In addition to what has been said by previous speakers, Her Majesty’s Government should be urged to take the following action. They should work to ensure that the issue of Burma is placed on the agenda of the UN Security Council as a matter of urgency; they should urge China and Russia not to exercise their vetos on a resolution at the UN Security Council; they should engage both China and India in discussions about Burma to highlight to them the trans-national problems of HIV/AIDS, human and drug trafficking, and urge them to support initiatives aimed at promoting political dialogue and national reconciliation. Her Majesty’s Government should urge the governments of the Kingdom of Thailand, India and Bangladesh to desist from forcibly repatriating those fleeing human rights violations in Burma; to desist from forcibly relocating Burmese refugees living in towns and cities into refugee camps; to provide greater access to refugee camps for non-governmental organisations; and to provide greater opportunities for education in the refugee camps, including access to Internet facilities. They should urge the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand to provide recognition and shelter for displaced Shan people in Thailand. I urge Her Majesty’s Government to raise these issues and to support the action requested by the noble Lord, Lord Alton, in regard to the alleged genocide committed against the Karen, Karenni and Shan of Burma, and support the imposition of an arms and investment embargo on Burma.