Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote internationally the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The Government has made a number of political commitments to respond to alleged genocide and other atrocities. Where there is a risk of atrocities, we use diplomacy to highlight our concerns, including through the United Nations. As a party to the Convention on the Crime of Genocide, the UK is fully committed to the prevention and punishment of genocide as appropriate under the convention. We have co-sponsored resolutions on the Prevention of Genocide and on commemorating the fifteenth anniversary of the Responsibility to Protect populations from genocide and other mass atrocities at the 43rd and 44th sessions of the UN Human Rights Council.

Since the majority of mass atrocities occur in and around conflict, the government believes a focus on conflict prevention is the best means to prevent most mass atrocities. Her Majesty's Government takes a consolidated, whole-of-government approach, using our diplomatic, development, defence, and law enforcement capabilities, to help pursue global peace and stability. We support work that seeks to address the root causes of conflict and drivers of instability, through tackling corruption, promoting good governance, improving access to security and justice, and furthering inclusive economic development. This approach aims to foster peaceful societies where atrocities are less likely to take place.