Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the UK's responsibilities are in international law to identify, prevent, suppress and punish acts of genocide and crimes against humanity; and if he will make a statement.

The UK is party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948 which requires that we prevent and punish the crime of genocide in our jurisdiction. We are also party to the Convention Against Torture 1948 which requires us to take measures to prevent torture in our jurisdiction, and to prosecute or extradite individuals who are in the UK, and who are alleged to have committed torture anywhere in the world.

As a State Party to the International Criminal Court Statute (ICC), the UK has also made it a domestic crime to commit any of the crimes in the ICC Statute, including genocide and crimes against humanity. Where such crimes take place in the UK, or are committed by UK nationals, they can be prosecuted before the UK courts.