Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL85):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool:
To ask His Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to implement their duty to punish the crime of genocide in Tigray, as required by Article I of the Genocide Convention, including the prosecution of the crime under section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001, or as required by other domestic laws allowing for prosecutions of international crimes by domestic courts, including the Geneva Conventions Act 1957. (HL85)
Tabled on: 08 November 2023
Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:
It is the long-standing policy of the Government that determinations of genocide should be made by a competent and independent international court. This approach is fully consistent with our obligations under the Genocide Convention and Rome Statute. Whether or not genocide is declared, the UK will continue to work to end violations of international human rights law and, where appropriate, international humanitarian law, and to alleviate the suffering of those affected. The UK is committed to protecting human rights in Ethiopia and across the globe. We provide funding for the UN Office for the High Commission of Human Rights and the African Union independent monitoring of human rights in Tigray, and support the investigative capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission through our £4.5 million Human Rights and Peacebuilding programme.
Date and time of answer: 23 Nov 2023 at 17:14.
