Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they recognise Islamic State's treatment of the Yazidi people as an act of genocide.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The situation is desperate for many communities within Syria and Iraq. We condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Christians, Mandeans, Yezidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population in Syria and Iraq who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality.
As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and other ministers have explained in response to similar questions, it is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred should be a matter for the international judicial system rather than legislatures, governments or other non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations of International Humanitarian Law, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.
Ultimately, the best way of preventing future atrocities is to defeat Daesh and its violent ideology. That’s why the UK is playing a leading role in a Global Coalition of 66 countries and international organisations to respond to Daesh’s inhumanity.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to help liberate Yazidi women currently being held in captivity in Iraq and Syria by Islamic State.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government agrees that there is an urgent need to protect civilians in Syria and Iraq and recognises the plight faced by vulnerable women and girls in the region.
Ultimately, the only way to protect civilians, including Yazidi women from Daesh is by defeating this terrible organisation, which in turn requires, amongst other things, ending the conflict in Syria. The UK has been at the forefront of these efforts and plays a leading role in a Global Coalition of 66 countries and international organisations to respond to Daesh’s inhumanity.
The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), set out the Government’s comprehensive strategy for dealing with Daesh and the conflict in Syria in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 26 November 2015.
Asked by: Baroness Crawley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to match the initiative of the government of Germany in providing special counselling, care and other medical support to Yazidi women who have suffered sexual and physical abuse at the hands of Islamic State.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
In the last few years, the UK has led the world on tackling sexual violence in conflict, working with international partners such as the UN, EU and Red Cross. In the Middle East we are supporting vulnerable women and girls through our role in the international humanitarian relief effort. The more than £2.3 billion we are providing in response to these crises is the UK’s largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.
We recognise the plight faced by vulnerable women and girls in the region, and particularly those women, including Yazidis, who have escaped following enslavement by Daesh. That is why we have funded the establishment of three community centres in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq which provide them with psychosocial and legal support, and the provision of two UN technical experts who will continue to improve the coordination of the humanitarian response to gender based violence in Iraq. Through the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund we are also providing life-saving maternal and specialised support for escapees of Daesh terror.
The British Government is also funding a project which aims to improve the documentation of sexual violence and other gender based cases in a victim sensitive way. We also co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution mandating the UN to investigate and report on Daesh abuses.
Ultimately, the only way to protect civilians, including Yazidi women, from Daesh is by defeating this terrible organisation, which in turn requires, amongst other things, ending the conflict in Syria. The UK has been at the forefront of these efforts. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), set out the Government’s comprehensive strategy for dealing with Daesh and the conflict in Syria in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 26 November 2015.