Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with the UN to strengthen global actions against human rights atrocities.

The UK Government is committed to upholding and defending the international rule of law and the rights and freedoms of people around the world, and UK atrocity prevention efforts align with UN efforts. Multilaterally, the UK supports the UN Secretary-General's Sustaining Peace agenda and has engaged directly with him about wider UN reform, helping to build momentum for change by bringing together different parts of the UN system to work jointly to prevent conflict. The UK also supports and funds a number of investigative bodies established by the UN including the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) in Syria, the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability Against Da'esh/ISIL Crimes (UNITAD) in Iraq and the IIM in Myanmar, all of which are charged with collecting and preserving evidence so that accountability can be pursued when the circumstances permit. In 2021, the UK was again one of the top ten donors to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), providing a voluntary contribution of around $7.9 million.

We will continue to engage with civil society, and use our position at the UN, including as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to raise atrocity situations of concern and to support the deployment of all appropriate tools available to the UN in dealing with potential mass atrocities and conflict. Our focus is always on securing an end to violence and protecting civilians.