House of Lords Library Briefing On Next Thursday’s Debate on Bringing The Perpetrators of Genocide To Justice. Background posts on Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Rohingya in Burma, Tigray, Nigeria, Yezidis, and Armenians.

House of Lords Library Briefing On Next Thursday’s Debate on Bringing The Perpetrators of Genocide To Justice. Background posts on Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Rohingya in Burma, Tigray, Nigeria, Yezidis, and Armenians.

On 27 May 2021, Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) is due to ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps it is taking to bring the perpetrators of genocide to justice.

What is genocide?

Genocide refers to any of the following acts that are committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group:

• killing members of the group;
• causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
• deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
• imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or
• forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the genocide convention) provides this definition. The crime can be committed in both a time of peace and in time of war. Examples of genocide include genocide under the Nazis (the Holocaust) and more recently the genocide in Darfur.

The genocide convention was the first piece of international law to codify the crime of genocide. It was initially approved in 1948 and came into force in 1951. It places an obligation on signatories to take measures to prevent and punish genocide, including enacting relevant legislation and punishing perpetrators. As of July 2019, the convention had been ratified or acceded to by 152 states. The UK acceded to the convention in 1970.

What other international agreements on genocide has the UK signed?

There are several other agreements to prevent genocide that the UK is a signatory to. Agreements include: the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; the responsibility to protect principle; and the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group’s Code of Conduct.

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

The UK ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 4 October 2001. This statute established the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC investigates and tries individuals charged with crimes of concern to the international community, including genocide.

In 2001, the UK enacted the International Criminal Court Act 2001. This incorporated ICC crimes (such as genocide) into domestic legislation.

Responsibility to protect principle

As part of the United Nations (UN), the UK adopted the principle of ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P) at a UN world summit meeting in 2005. This principle placed a legal obligation on member states to protect their populations from atrocity crimes such as genocide. The R2P principle has three pillars:

• the responsibility of each state to protect its populations;
• the responsibility of the international community to assist states in protecting their populations; and
• the responsibility of the international community to protect when a state is manifestly failing to protect its populations.

The Government reaffirmed its commitment to R2P in a response to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee report on ‘Global Britain: Responsibility to Protect and Humanitarian Intervention’ in 2018.

Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group’s Code of Conduct

In a speech made by the then UK Permanent Representative to the UN in 2015, Matthew Rycroft confirmed that the UK would sign up to the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency (Act) Group’s Code of Conduct (the code). The code requires members of the UN Security Council (the council) not to vote against any credible resolution that aims to prevent or halt atrocity crimes such as genocide.

The five permanent members of the council have a special right to veto any resolution. If used, the respective resolution is deemed not approved. The five permanent members are the UK, the USA, China, France and Russia. Permanent members were given the power of veto because of their key roles in the establishment of the UN.

The code was developed by the Act group—a group of 27 states who are responsible for improving the working methods of the council—in response to concerns about the frequency of permanent council members using their power of veto in situations where atrocities either occurred or were at risk of occurring.

A complete list of vetoes is included in the Security Council report. The last UK veto of a council resolution occurred in 1989.

Recent parliamentary discussion during the Trade Bill

During the bill proceedings of the Trade Act 2021, several amendments were moved that aimed to ensure judicial oversight of trade agreements with countries accused of genocide. The treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China was referred to several times during the debates.

For instance, an amendment moved by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) during the bill’s report stage debate in the House of Lords aimed to enable the High Court of England and Wales to determine that an international trade agreement should be revoked if a signatory country has committed genocide.

The amendment received cross-party support and was inserted into the bill in the House of Lords. The amendment also received support from external organisations such as the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

However, following Government concerns about the amendment’s potential to limit government prerogative powers to conduct international trade relations, it was removed during the House of Commons consideration of Lords amendments debate on 19 January 2021.

Several iterations of the amendment were moved during subsequent debates, but did not form part of the final Trade Act 2021. Instead, a compromise amendment was agreed to. This enables a House of Commons committee to identify credible reports of genocide and insist on a parliamentary debate if the committee is not satisfied with the Government’s response to its report.

More information on the amendments in the House of Lords can be found in the House of Commons Library briefing: Trade Bill 2019‒21: Lords Amendments.

Read more

• UK Parliament, ‘Trade Act 2021’, accessed 19 May 2021
• Cristina Gallardo, ‘UK lawmakers declare China’s treatment of Uyghurs ‘genocide’’, Politico EU, 22 April 2021

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On Monday last I chaired a Webinar which included the contribution of Professor Mukesh Kamila CBE a former UK and UN official, and leading authority on genocide, who was recently reported in the Daily Telegraph as saying events in Tigray constitute genocide. https://www.davidalton.net/2021/05/17/a-recording-of-todays-webinar-on-tigray-will-be-made-available-here-is-the-urgent-appeal-which-david-alton-made-to-dominic-raab-to-table-a-resolution-at-the-un-security-council/

See the following Background Posts

On 17 May 2021, the Coalition for Genocide Response joined Lord Alton of Liverpool and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eritrea and organised an important webinar about the use of rape and sexual violence in Tigray. Watch it here.

Guardian reports on shocking atrocities in Tigray including the rape of young girls. Webinar on Monday will focus on how war has been waged on women and girls. Telegraph reports on “Tigray Genocide”

Guardian reports on shocking atrocities in Tigray including the rape of young girls. Webinar on Monday will focus on how war has been waged on women and girls. Telegraph reports on “Tigray Genocide”

CCP is now attempting to dissuade United Nations Ambassadors from hearing the truth about Genocide in Xinjiang. Germany, UK and US deserve our thanks for providing a platform for the world to learn the truth.

Daily Telegraph profiles Dr.Adrian Zenz – the man China is taking desperate measures to silence because of his courageous work exposing the Uyghur genocide.

Speech to Parliament on April 13th on the OVERSEAS OPERATIONS (SERVICE PERSONNEL AND VETERANS) BILL – on why UK personnel committing genocide, torture, or war crimes, should be open to prosecution in UK courts.

Imposition of Sanctions by the CCP. Statement by David Alton: “The CCP assumes that trading with a State credibly accused of Genocide will be more important to the UK than defending the values we cherish. They are fundamentally mistaken.”

Today’s Webinar organised by the Coalition for Genocide Response to mark International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims.

Government urged to consider the 25,000 page report on Uyghur genocide from the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy which confirms that a genocide is underway in Xinjiang

Today’s House of Lords debate on the Genocide Amendment “The debate on the genocide amendment may now be drawing to a conclusion, but the debate it has raised in the country has begun and it will not end here.”

Genocide Amendment narrowly defeated in the Commons: 300 MPs brought the Government within a whisker of defeat in the Commons. That, and majorities for the amendment, of over 100 in the Lords, have demonstrated the strength of feeling and that, as new Genocides occur in places like Xinjiang, this argument is far from over and will not go away.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP in The House “MPs must back the genocide amendment and stand up for the Uyghurs. My hope is that the Lords amendment will pass.”

Today’s Independent – “The appeasement of genocide in Xinjiang shames our country – and all for the sake of a trade deal” – Caroline Lucas MP and John Ashton

In advance of Monday’s House of Commons forthcoming vote on the All Party House of Lords Genocide Amendment, Parliament was told that the Government is hiding behind the fiction of an imaginary judicial mechanism that will hold the CCP accountable for its genocide of the Xinjiang Uighurs. Last night, speaking to a Webinar organised by the Faiths United Youth Network David Alton said that trade deals had become more important than Genocide- “a word which dares not speak its name.”

Government asked when they are going to amend the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to introduce financial penalties for organisations which do not publish annual modern slavery statements, and ensure that UK organisations are not complicit in, nor profiting from, the human rights violations in Xinjiang, in particular within the cotton industry. Says it wont follow the Canadian House of Commons and Dutch Parliament decisions to declare the treatment of the Uighurs in Xinjiang amounts to a genocide: “a matter for the Courts.”

25,000 page report published by more than 50 legal experts says that every single article of the 1948 Convention on the Crime of Genocide has been violated by the Chinese Communist Party against the Uighurs in Xinjiang. UK Government asked for its response. Dr.Ewelina Ochab, Co-Founder of the Coalition For Genocide Response asks “How much more evidence is needed before the international community acts?”

Today’s Times :Campaign led by Xi violates every article of UN convention, US think tank finds. China guilty of genocide over Uighurs, international lawyers say in report

CONFERENCE ON THE CCP’S FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING – with opening remarks by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC and Parliamentarians from Canada, Europe, the US and Australia, including Senator Eric Abetz, Chair of the Australian Senate’s Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Legislation Committee described the CCP’s actions against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang as a “genocide”.

November warning “Tigray on the edge of Genocide” ignored.Amnesty and Human Rights Watch Report on Atrocity Crimes in Tigray. On Tuesday Parliamentarians will challenge Ministers to say when the U.K. will be taking action at the UN Security Council following blocks by China and Russia after attempts by Ireland to raise it.

Government fails to say what assessment it has made of the legal opinion by Alison Macdonald QC, Jackie McArthur, Naomi Hart and Lorraine Aboagye on International criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and genocide against the Uyghur population in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, published on 26 January.

Government says it won’t declare atrocities against Uighurs to be a Genocide, says only Courts can do this – and then blocks route to the Courts

Daily Telegraph publishes shocking proof of massacre by Ethiopian forces in Tigray. When is the U.K. going to put this evidence of war crimes and potential Genocide before the UN Security Council?

Government asked to say what steps they take to ensure that the investment strategies of pension funds and other institutional investors take into account (1) crimes against humanity, and (2) genocide, as social risk factors.  They respond by saying Funds must have policies on financially material environmental, social, and governance factors, and on stewardship, in their investments. Trustees are required to report annually on how these policies have been implemented.

Joint Statement: 20 Civil Society Organisations Support Historic Genocide Amendment to UK Trade Bill

Andrew Mitchell is right to call upon all those who care about the holocaust, genocide, and justice to take up the cause of the souls of the slaughtered Tutsis who cry out for justice. He says “Britain has turned a deaf ear. We should all be ashamed.” And, What I Learnt at Rwanda’s Murambi Genocide site in 2004 and in Darfur as “never again” happened all over again.

As Victims of Yazidi Genocide Are Exhumed From Mass Graves It Recalls The Refusal Of The UK Government – Even After A House Of Commons Vote – To Name A Genocide. They said it was a decision which only the Courts could make – even though there was no Court capable of doing it. On Tuesday the House of Commons can put that right.

Parliament hears that US designates Uighur Atrocities as Genocide: “this issue is not going to go away quietly.”

Trade Bill (Genocide Amendment) House of Lords, 2nd February 2021

International Bar Association calls for UK Parliament to recognise the essential role of courts in applying the Genocide Convention

Genocide amendment- – important letter to Boris Johnson from Archbishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, Coalition for Genocide Response, Rene Cassin, Waging Peace, The Rights Practice, Gender and Religious Freedom, Open Doors UK & Ireland, Humanists UKCSW, End Transplant Abuse in China, Crown Christian Heritage Trust, All Faiths Network, Coptic Orthodox Church, Refcemi, Steadfast Global

For the Uyghurs, Genocide is a word which dares not speak its name. For the sake of women like Rahima Mahmut, Gulzira Auelkhan, Sayragul Sauytbay, and Ruqiye Perhat – whose heart-breaking, shocking, stories are recorded here – it’s time that the crime of genocide was given definition in the UK. On January 19th Parliament can use its voice and speak that name – insisting on justice for victims of Genocide and refusing to make tawdry trade deals with those responsible for the crime above all crimes.

Boris Johnson said the Yazidis were being subjected to Genocide but that “for some baffling reason the Foreign Office still hesitates to use the term genocide.” No need to be baffled any longer Prime Minister. And for the sake of this Yazidi survivor listen to her appeal that you back the Genocide amendment. Hesitate no longer.

For the Uyghurs, Genocide is a word which dares not speak its name. For the sake of women like Rahima Mahmut, Gulzira Auelkhan, Sayragul Sauytbay, and Ruqiye Perhat – whose heart-breaking, shocking, stories are recorded here – it’s time that the crime of genocide was given definition in the UK. On January 19th Parliament can use its voice and speak that name – insisting on justice for victims of Genocide and refusing to make tawdry trade deals with those responsible for the crime above all crimes.

Burma Human Rights Network urges Commons to back the Genocide Amendment

UK needs to respond to reports that 2,200 Christians were hacked to death in Nigeria during 2020, to reports from Genocide Watch that in two months alone over 350 Christians were killed and their data that “over 11,500 Christians have been murdered since June 2015” and to the findings of the Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights.

In today’s Daily Telegraph Charles Moore says “ a freedom-weary West must not end up seeing China’s tyranny as a safe haven” and that the Genocide amendment before the House of Commons on Tuesday “opens interesting possibilities” to do something about it.

What Happened To The Promise? The Situation of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020. Watch the Westminster Symposium discussing the lessons to be learned from the Armenian Genocide.

More than 100 Parliamentarians have united to send a letter to Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, urging the UK to show leadership and to uphold human rights by joining the International Court of Justice case against Myanmar on genocide against the Rohingya people.

Conference on the Violence in Nigeria: is the world ignoring the signs of an unfolding Genocide?

Remembering Nuremberg – 75 years ago today and why it challenges us to combat new Genocides and hatred of minorities.

Remarks by David Alton at a side even at the 2020 international Ministerial on Religious Freedom being held in Poland: “Breaking the Vicious Circle of Genocide.”

Cross Party Alliance Demands An End To Trade Deals With States Complicit in Genocide

Government says “We do not plan to review the position on the determination of genocide” – but will rely on organisations like the UN – knowing that China will veto any investigation into crimes against the Uighurs just as it prevented the International Criminal Court investigating the UN’s report which found evidence of crimes against humanity in North Korea.

Today in Nineveh the stories of two ancient communities rang out as a rebuke to the international community and its failure to protect and prevent genocide and to punish those responsible. Yazidi and Christian leaders told me “what happened to us was beyond imagination”

Government responds to questions asking what steps they have taken in response to the proposals to block veto powers of the permanent members of the UN Security Council in cases of (1) genocide, and (2) other international crimes but is sceptical about seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of the veto power

In an interview with the former Deputy Governor of the Nigerian Central Bank, Dr Obadiah Mailafia. He calls those peddling the herder-farmer narrative “accessories to genocide” – He condemns the recent statement by the presidency regarding the causes of the violence and the government’s continued inaction. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s President Buhari fails to liberate Leah Sharibu.

Parliamentary Replies from Foreign Office, Home Office and DCMS Ministers about 1. the letter President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews about Uighur Genocide; 2.the need for international support for a full and impartial investigation into the detention of Uighur Muslims; 3.the new report on the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims and the rise of international extremism; 4. China’s failure to uphold  Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 5. discussions about the detention of Uighur Muslims in camps in Xinjiang with the Ambassador of China to the UK; 6. reports that the influence of Daesh has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic; 7.how many Daesh fighters are known to have returned to the UK; how many such fighters and individuals assisting Daesh in different capacities have been prosecuted in the UK courts, and 8. what progress they have made in establishing how BT verify Huawei’s denials of (1) the use of slave labour, and (2) the use of Huawei technology in oppressing Uighur people.

Telecommunications Legislation: Human Rights of Uighurs – Questions in the House as Uighurs are shackled and as the Board of Deputies of British Jews says: “The World will neither forgive nor forget a genocide against the Uighur people” and the Foreign Secretary says that this is,  “reminiscent of something not seen for a long time.” And Minister replies on the impact of China’s proposed draft data security law on UK companies including the potential requirement to disclose information to the government of China about network security in their operations in other countries

Here are a selection of posts from 2019 – to provide a recap of the year through a different lens – and a distraction when the festivities prove too much.  The year begins and ends with posts about Genocide in Iraq, human rights violations in Pakistan and North Korea, and disturbing events in Hong Kong.