Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help mitigate the risk of atrocity crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces and military activity by Azerbaijani forces in that region.

The UK believes that those who commit atrocities in armed conflicts need to be held accountable. We call on states and non-state actors engaged in armed conflict to respect international humanitarian law, and to act in accordance with their obligations under it. In the case of Azerbaijani military action in Nagorno-Karabakh in September, the UK was vocal in calling for an end to the conflict, the protection of civilians and for immediate humanitarian access. The UN and other international actors have subsequently been granted access to the region.