PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
RELIGIOUS RESTRICTIONS, DISCRIMINATION AND PERSECUTION IN BURMA (17 January 2007)

That this House notes the evidence of the widespread restrictions on religious freedom, discrimination against religious minorities and in some places violent persecution of Christians and Muslims in Burma; welcomes the publication of a comprehensive new report Carrying the Cross: the military regime's campaign of restriction, discrimination and persecution against Christians in Burma by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which complements past reports of the persecution of Muslims and the imprisonment of Buddhist monks and nuns; further notes the military regime's persecution of Christians among the Chin, Kachin, Naga, Karen, Karenni and other ethnic nationalities and the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims; calls on the Government to raise concerns about religious freedom and specifically the persecution of Christians and Muslims in Burma with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); urges the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion and Belief to investigate violations of religious freedom in Burma; and calls on the UN Security Council to pass a binding resolution requiring the SPDC to cease its widespread violation of human rights, including violations of religious freedom, to release all political prisoners, to open all parts of the country to unhindered access for international humanitarian organisations, and to engage in meaningful tripartite dialogue with the National League for Democracy and the ethnic nationalities.

Sponsored by:
Stephen Crabb (Conservative)