Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2016 to Question 42107, on Islamic State, what factors would need to change for a referral to the International Criminal Court to be considered practical; what discussions the Government has had with (a) Russia, (b) China and (c) other permanent members of the UN Security Council on securing their vote for a referral; and what the Government's latest assessment is of (i) Russia's and (ii) China's policy on that issue.

We expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) would be blocked, as it was when efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014. We continue to work with our international partners, including other permanent members of the UN Security Council, to look at every available option to assist the victims of Daesh and bring those responsible for crimes to justice.