Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of Niger on reports that Niger’s army has been responsible for the disappearance and execution of civilians.

The UK is committed to protecting human rights across the world, including in Niger and the rest of the Sahel. As one of the largest humanitarian donors in the Sahel and with our new deployment to the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Mali, we are prioritising the protection of civilians in this most fragile of regions.

We are deeply concerned about the discovery of mass graves in the Tillaberi region of Niger in September. The country's National Human Rights Commission has now published its report on the mass graves publicly. Last month I raised the issue with Niger's Minister for Foreign Affairs, calling on the Government to ensure the military court proceedings conclude and that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The UK will continue to call for the Government of Niger to take action on this issue.