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Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) on Thursday, 17 December 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 5 January 2016. It was answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative) on Wednesday, 30 December 2015 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Genocide

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 16 December (HL4327) that "we are not submitting any evidence of possible genocide against Yezidis and Christians to international courts, nor have we been asked to", what assistance they are providing to the Assyrian Christians and Yezidis to make the case that genocide has been committed, and what resources they are providing for the collection of evidence.

Answer

The Government believes that recognition of genocides should be a matter for international courts. It should be a legal, rather than political determination, decided by international judges after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible international judicial process.

However, we are funding a project that is documenting sexual violence in Iraq, in a victim sensitive way. This database of cases will then be used to help survivors access justice and ensure that perpetrators are held to account. We also co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution mandating the UN to investigate and report on Daesh abuses.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL4689
Session
2015-16
Related items
Genocide
Wednesday, 16 December 2015
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Iraq Genocide International courts Christianity Yazidis
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk