Genocide Convention: UK Compliance

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Tuesday 17th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. I am grateful to the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Ellie Chowns) for securing the debate. As she alluded to, we have had many exchanges on events in Israel and Palestine.

Let me start by setting out a little of the legal position in relation to the 1948 convention on genocide. The convention was clearly born out of the horrors of the second world war. It was a solemn commitment by the international community to say, “Never again.” Today, upholding the convention is of paramount importance to the Government. I thank the hon. Member for her thoughtful contribution on the issue.

Complying with international law is a fundamental part of the Government’s commitment to the rule of law. I can confirm that we continue to treat all our international legal and humanitarian obligations seriously. That is what our assessments are focused on, and we abide by all of them, including those under the genocide convention.

[Ellie Chowns]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Falconer]

I will make a little progress, and then of course I will.

More than 75 years after it was created, we remain fully committed to the responsibilities set out in the genocide convention. As the hon. Member knows, the long-standing policy of the UK Government is that any formal determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, rather than for Governments or non-judicial bodies. That allows a decision to be made in the light of all available evidence, in the context of a credible judicial process.

The hon. Member asked repeatedly for a risk assessment of genocide. There is a difference between the lower bar of the serious risks that we determined in the September assessments and the higher bar. I recognise that she would prefer different answers, but as a Minister I must attend to the legal questions on me, which are at the lower bar. I will not speculate about legal determinations beyond that. I have confirmed repeatedly, to her and to the whole House, that the Government understand our legal obligation under the genocide convention and we have met it. We have set out the assessments that we have made and we continue to keep them under review.

[Ellie Chowns]

The Minister is relying on arguments that, as I have articulated, do not answer my question. He says that the Government take their responsibilities under international law seriously, including the responsibility under article I of the genocide convention to prevent genocide. Does he recognise that we cannot wait for a court to determine that genocide has occurred if we are to prevent that genocide? We have to act before that. Does he recognise that by repeatedly relying on the assessments relating to export licences and IHL, he is not addressing the question? Has a risk assessment of genocide in Gaza been conducted by the Government? It should be, if we are to fulfil our obligations under international law.

[Mr Falconer]

I understand that the hon. Member does not like the answers that she has been provided with, but they have remained consistent, because our position is consistent. I can assure her that, armed with the full legal advice of the Government, I am confident that the Government are complying with the genocide convention. She raises the very—

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[Ellie Chowns]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Falconer]

I will not give way again.

The hon. Member’s question—“Surely, we must not wait for a formal determination?”—is incredibly important. I want to reassure hon. Members that we do not wait. Where there have been provisional measures issued in the ICJ case, we have both abided by those measures ourselves and called on those affected, including the Government of Israel, to abide by them. We have taken a series of steps, and we have led the international community in many of those steps. We recognise the gravity of what is happening in Gaza, in the west bank and across the region. We are trying to take steps equal to the scale of that challenge and we will continue to do so.

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[Mr Falconer]

I want to clarify about the advisory opinion, which we are still considering—it was long in the making and has broad implications—that the UK agrees with the central position that the hon. Member describes, which is that settlements are illegal and should cease. That is not a novel element of the advisory opinion for the UK Government. [Interruption.] I will make some progress, if I may.

[Ellie Chowns]

Will the Minister give way on settlements?

[Mr Falconer]

Let me make a little progress, and then I will be happy to.

Let me set out what the Government are doing. We have called on the Government of Israel repeatedly to comply fully with their international obligations. We do so in private, with Ministers, and in public, through co-ordinated public statements with partners. We have built strong international pressure on Israel to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the Security Council. We have voted repeatedly in the Security Council to that effect, demanding the lifting of restrictions on aid in Gaza in line with humanitarian law. We have also taken action to address settler violence and extremism, including the sanctions last week against Mr Ben-Gvir and Mr Smotrich for inciting extremist violence, which constitutes an abuse of Palestinians’ human rights.

I give way to the hon. Member for North Herefordshire on settlements.

[Ellie Chowns]

I thank the Minister. Will he address the question I have previously raised in the House? Trade in settlement goods is trade in the proceeds of crime, so will he ban it?

[Mr Falconer]

Ms Jardine has reminded me that I have one minute left, so I will answer the question and then conclude. Goods from illegally occupied settlements come under different trading provisions than those from green-line Israel. That is a question for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs that we keep under regular review. As the hon. Member is aware, others are looking at these questions, but at the moment no European power bans settlement trade in the way that she describes. It is something that we talk to our partners and allies about.

Let me conclude rapidly in order to give the hon. Member the final word. I want to reaffirm that the Government are meeting their international obligations, including those under the genocide convention. We continue to maintain that genocide determinations are a matter for a competent—

[Ellie Chowns]

Will the Minister give way on that point?

[Mr Falconer]

I am about to hand over to the hon. Member. Our commitment to international law is firm. It applies everywhere without exception, and our record reflects that.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I welcome the tone and spirit of my hon. Friend’s question. We do have agency in this House. The frustrations that are felt by so many, both within and without the House, are completely understandable and justifiable. This Government have sought change and have been frustrated by how slow that change has been, but we will continue to work for a better situation for those in Gaza, for those in west bank and, of course, for those in Israel.

My hon. Friend asks about maritime corridors, which are an important but, ultimately, relatively peripheral part of any aid operation if it is to be at the scale required. There were maritime corridors supported in an earlier phase of the conflict and they did important work, but ultimately the three road crossings into Jordan, Egypt and Israel are the most practical, most viable, and most tried and tested routes to get aid in at the scale and with the flexibility required to meet the needs of those in the strip.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

I welcome the announcement of sanctions on two extremist Ministers. It is long overdue and it is a bare minimum. On its own, it is likely to do little to stop extremist, illegal settlements and violence against Palestinian civilians. When will the Government implement a ban on settlement goods to stop the economy that fuels illegal settlements? Will the Minister today, clearly and unequivocally, call for illegal settlements to be dismantled, as the International Court of Justice has directed?

[Mr Falconer]

I will not repeat the answer about settlement goods that I gave earlier, but I want to be absolutely clear for the House that settlements are illegal under Israeli and international law and they should be dismantled.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Wednesday 4th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I just want to acknowledge for my hon. Friend that we recognise that this conflict is being measured in hours and days, not weeks and months, and it is on those timelines that we seek to take action. On the question of a coalition of the willing, we are working with our allies, as I am sure she is aware. We convened the statement of 26 on humanitarian action and the leaders’ statement of three, to which I referred earlier in my statement. We will continue to work broadly. I can confirm that even today I have been working on those questions.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

The UK Government have an obligation under international law to do everything possible to prevent genocide, yet we see genocide occurring in Gaza. The Minister assured the House a month ago that he was conducting a risk assessment on genocide in Gaza. Will he give me a clear, unambiguous, straight answer today? Will he publish his most recent genocide risk assessment without delay?

[Mr Falconer]

As this House has heard from me before, the question that we assessed in relation to international humanitarian law was whether there a real risk of a breach of IHL. That was the assessment we made when we first entered government. That is a considerably lower bar than the questions to which the hon. Member refers. We continue to make those assessments, which cover the entirety of international humanitarian law. We have updated the House on that initial assessment, which is at a rather lower bar than she is suggesting, and the assessment broadly remains in place. We will not provide further updates, but if the position changes, I will be sure to return to the House.

India-Pakistan: Escalation

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Wednesday 7th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for the sensitive and personal tone that he brings to his remarks. I, too, have seen the Commonwealth war graves in Pakistan and India, which are a tribute to the service of many from the British Indian forces that fought in world war two. I can assure him and his constituents that we will do everything we can to play our full diplomatic role.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

Given the significance and frightening ramifications of further tensions and instability between these two nuclear-armed neighbours, I agree with the Minister that de-escalation and diplomacy are the absolute priority. Can he tell the House whether he has sought assurances that UK-manufactured weapons and military equipment have not been used in attacks against civilians? Can I ask him now to explicitly rule out supplying any UK-made weaponry to either side, in a bid to increase the pressure on all parties to engage in much-needed dialogue?

[Mr Falconer]

We have some of the toughest arms export rules in the world, and they will be fully adhered to in this case. I do not intend to make further announcements from the Dispatch Box about that regime now, but I am sure that in due course I can return to the House to provide a further update.

Israel: Refusal of Entry for UK Parliamentarians

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Monday 7th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I stick by the characterisation in my statement.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

In solidarity, Green party MPs share in the condemnation—which should be fully cross-party—of the Israeli Government’s shameful detention and deportation of our two Labour MP colleagues. In the context of the widespread evidence of war crimes, does the Minister agree that this demonstrates that international scrutiny of what is happening in Israel and Palestine is ever more important? Noting that the Foreign Secretary and the Minister have condemned the actions of the Israeli Government, may I ask him which of the many actions that I have previously challenged him to take, will he now take, to show that actions speak louder than words? How will he make our disapproval really clear?

[Mr Falconer]

Conscious of time, I will not relitigate the many points that the hon. Member has raised with me in the past. I will simply say that I stand by the remarks in the statement, and we have made our displeasure known.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr Hamish Falconer)]

I am deeply concerned about the resumption of hostilities in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary and I are pressing all parties to return urgently to dialogue and to implement the ceasefire agreement in full. Since the renewed outbreak of hostilities, the Foreign Secretary has spoken to Secretary Rubio, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, EU High Representative Kallas and the UN emergency relief co-ordinator, Tom Fletcher. We have also been working with our French, German and Italian partners in support of the Arab plan for the reconstruction of Gaza as part of wider peace building efforts.

[Ellie Chowns]

It is often said that actions speak louder than words. The Government have repeatedly condemned what is happening in Gaza and the west bank, yet Israeli settler violence, Israeli settlement expansion, the unlawful demolition of Palestinian homes and violence in Gaza are continuing. Given that UK diplomatic efforts and condemnations are being so roundly ignored, will the UK now take action and ban the importation of products from illegal settlements on illegally occupied land, to give the signal that Israel cannot break international law with complete impunity?

[Mr Falconer]

The hon. Lady will know the importance that we have placed on international law since we came to power in July. We have been clear throughout this period that we want to see a ceasefire in Gaza. We regret that, at this point, we are still in disagreement with the Israeli Government, and we regret the scenes of the last few weeks in relation to the west bank and to Gaza. In relation to settlement goods, as the Foreign Secretary said earlier and as I have said before, different provisions exist for illegal settlements, which we consider to be illegal and which do not benefit from any of the provisions that would otherwise cover goods from Israel.

Syria

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Monday 10th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I do agree. We have engaged closely with our partners and we have travelled extensively to the region. It is vital that the international community, both in the region and beyond, speaks with one voice to give the best possible chance for the inclusive Government that we all want to see in Syria.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

I thank the Minister for his statement and share his deep concern about the violence over the weekend. He mentioned the more than 16 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance and the pledging conference next week. Will he explain how the UK can support a safe, secure, sustainable transition in Syria given the recently announced devastating cuts to UK aid? What is his assessment of the security implications of those cuts in Syria and more broadly?

[Mr Falconer]

I do not want to sound unduly cheery given the stage of economic crisis in Syria, but in many respects access to Syria for humanitarian aid has got easier since the fall of Assad, so our aid programmes are able to make a difference. We have £62 million—that is not a small number—making a real difference to saving lives. We will be able to say a little more about how much further we can go on providing aid into the future at the Brussels conference, where it will be really important that we talk with our partners, too.

Northern Gaza

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question, and recognise the anguish in his voice about the scenes coming out of Gaza over the winter period. He is right that I feel that anguish as well—I think this whole House feels it when we see pictures of civilians in terrible distress.

My right hon. Friend asks me about the Israeli ambassador. It is tempting to think that, if only we had representatives who were more to our taste politically, things would be easier. There is a clear disagreement between the British and Israeli Governments about the conduct of the war in Gaza and the humanitarian implications that flow from it. We will continue to make that disagreement clear through all channels, both through the Israeli ambassador and directly to the Israeli Government through the Foreign Minister, the Minister of Strategic Affairs and the deputy Foreign Minister. We will continue to talk to the Israeli Government about these issues—indeed, that is the only direct route to secure the changes in the situation that we want to see.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

The UN says that the healthcare system in Gaza is on the brink of collapse, and the International Committee of the Red Cross says that it is being obliterated in besieged northern Gaza. The World Health Organisation says that hospitals have become battlegrounds, and we have all seen the terrible scenes of patients and medics being forcibly removed from Kamal Adwan, the only remaining functioning health facility at that time. What further evidence does the Minister need to conclude that war crimes are being committed in Gaza and that a genocide is taking place, and how can he continue to justify the export of any arms to Israel, given that it risks making us complicit in the systematic destruction of healthcare in Gaza?

[Mr Falconer]

I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer on the question of legal determinations about genocide. That is a question for international courts, and international courts are considering it.

In relation to arms, I want once again to reassure the House that the measures we have taken regarding arms licences are far-reaching. I have already discussed this afternoon the carve-out for F-35 parts, which will remain the position. As for the remaining arms licences, it is important to say that many of them are not in fact for arms, but for dual-use equipment that requires licensing even if it is not for military use. Even where they are military components, very few of the remaining licences are going to the IDF; for example, they are for body armour and helmets that non-governmental organisations use when they visit Gaza. We have taken far-reaching action in relation to the concerns we have about the breaching of international humanitarian law in Gaza, and we keep that under regular review.

Israel-Gaza Conflict: Arrest Warrants

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Monday 25th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Hamish Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Support for international criminal justice and accountability has traditionally been a matter on which we have had widespread support in this House. It will continue to be a priority for the British Government.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

The ICC, the world’s highest criminal court, has “reasonable grounds” to allege that the Israeli leaders are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The other world court, the International Court of Justice, has found that there is “plausible” risk that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians and that Israel’s occupation and annexation are unlawful.

I ask the Minister two questions. First, does he agree that the UK has obligations under international law to prevent genocide, to bring Israel’s unlawful occupation to an end and to bring suspected perpetrators of grave breaches of international law to justice? Secondly and quite simply, what will the UK do differently as a result of the decisions of the ICC and the ICJ? The Minister says that he will pull out all the stops. We have heard many suggestions here today, including stopping the export of F-35s. What will the Government do differently?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ellie Chowns and Hamish Falconer

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Hamish Falconer]

My hon. Friend asks an important question. Peace building at a civil society level has an important role to play in trying to resolve this conflict. I will write to him with details of our plans.

[Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)]

T3. I welcome this Government’s ambition in seeking a new climate finance goal at COP29 in Baku shortly. Will the Minister assure me that she understands the scale of need? The UN Environment Programme says that 10 to 18 times more funding is needed for adaptation than is currently on the table. Will she make sure that it includes loss and damage and is additional to aid?