Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of existing international capabilities to meet any global increase in identity-based violence; and what plans they have to appoint a Minister to act as a Special Envoy on Genocide.

There are currently no plans to appoint a Minister to act as a Special Envoy on Genocide. As Minister with responsibility for Human Rights policy and matters relating to the UN as well as the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, I also have oversight of our atrocity prevention policy. The creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) presents us with an opportunity to identify where we can strengthen our international efforts on reducing conflict and instability, including atrocity prevention, in order to maximise our impact abroad. The UK Government has consulted widely as part of the Integrated Security, Defence and Foreign Policy Review which will propose fresh ideas to shape the objectives and systems of the FCDO, reflecting a drive towards a more effective and more joined-up foreign policy.