Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Minister has responsibility for her Department’s atrocity prevention work; how many officials in her Department are working on that work; and at what pay grades each of those officials is employed.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon has oversight of Government policy on atrocity prevention. He is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Minister with responsibility for human rights policy and matters relating to the United Nations, and the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict.

We are unable to provide a total number of staff working on atrocity prevention, though staff at all grades in the UK and our missions overseas working on human rights issues, conflict prevention and sanctions contribute to the Department's work on atrocity prevention. Staff are able to call on the thematic lead on atrocity prevention and the Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation and other thematic leads for advice. Thematic teams include: Women, Peace and Security, Girls' Education, Children & Armed Conflict, the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI), tackling Modern Slavery, promoting the Freedom of Religion or Belief, safeguarding the Freedom of the Media, and supporting the protection of Christians from persecution.