Mentions:
1: Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con - Life peer) My Lords, the United Kingdom continues to push for accountability for Russian war crimes in Ukraine, - Speech Link
2: Lord Pickles (Con - Life peer) My Lords, one of the war crimes that Russia has committed in Ukraine is the forcible abduction of 20,000 - Speech Link
3: Baroness Meacher (XB - Life peer) crimes committed in Ukraine. - Speech Link
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding (1) they have given so far, and (2) they have pledged to give, to support the government of Ukraine's investigations into war crimes, and how much they have given and pledged to give to the International Criminal Court or any other international bodies supporting victims and witnesses of war crimes.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine. We have provided £6.2 million of capacity-building support to Ukraine's domestic work to document, investigate, and prosecute war crimes. Since February 2022, we have provided £2.3 million in additional contributions to the International Criminal Court to increase its capacity to collect evidence and support survivors. This is on top of our annual budget contribution to the ICC, a total of £36.2 million for 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to propose legislation to ensure that the UK is not a safe haven for perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK legal system is built on the tradition that, as a general rule, the authorities of the State in whose territory an offence is committed are best placed to prosecute the crime. However, universal jurisdiction applies to torture and other grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. It is a decision for the independent prosecuting authorities whether to prosecute such an offence. The UK remains committed to holding perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine to account, including through our support to the International Criminal Court. We have also delivered a £6.2 million package to support Ukraine's domestic investigations and prosecutions.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the potential of an international tribunal for delivering reparations to victims of the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine and making Russia pay for the damage. We continue to engage in the Core Group established to explore options for a Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression. We support exploring the creation of an internationalised tribunal, rooted in Ukraine's jurisdiction, with international elements. Our support to the International Criminal Court and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is also ongoing. Alongside the EU and US, the UK has launched the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group to support Ukraine's domestic prosecutions of war crimes.
Urge UN Security Council to refer Sri Lanka to the ICC prosecutor
- 246 Signatures
(Estimated Final Signatures: 536 - 5 added in the past 24hrs)
15 years after the Mullivaikkal massacre of Tamil civilians and a finding of Sri Lankan genocide and war crimes by the Permanent People's Tribunal, the Tamils still lack justice. We urge the Government to seek for the situation to be referred to the ICC prosecutor for lasting reconciliation.
Found: We believe meaningful stability and reconciliation can only begin once any atrocities of war crimes and
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, whether she has written to the Prime Minister on Gaza and war crimes since 1 April 2024.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
I cannot answer your question as to do so would be in breach of the Law Officers’ Convention.
Paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code clearly states that the fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) provide funding for and (b) otherwise support the Ukrainian government to (i) investigate, (ii) arrest and (iii) prosecute Russian military (A) commanders and (B) personnel involved in the deployment of (1) choking and (2) other illegal chemical agents.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Russia's use of chemicals as a method of warfare in Ukraine is a breach of its obligations under the UN Chemical Weapons Convention. The UK has provided Ukraine with assistance against potential chemical attacks, including medical countermeasures and protection. We have supported the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to assist Ukraine to detect the use of chemicals on the battlefield.
We have provided £6.2 million of capacity-building support to Ukraine's domestic work to document, investigate, and prosecute war crimes. Since 2022, we have provided £2.3 million in additional contributions to the International Criminal Court, in addition to our £13.2 million annual budget contribution for 2024.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps she has taken to support the prosecution of alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin has opened more than 100,000 files into alleged crimes which he intends to take through the Ukrainian courts.
I remain in regular contact with Prosecutor General Kostin. Alongside UK legal experts from inside and outside government, I am supporting the work of the Office of the Prosecutor General and the International Criminal Court to ensure allegations of war crimes are fully and fairly investigated, by independent, effective and robust legal mechanisms.
The UK is also a founding member of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, alongside the US and the EU, which works in the region with Ukraine to coordinate and provide additional support to Ukraine’s domestic prosecutions. We have also ensured to provide training and advisory support to Ukrainian judges and prosecutors across the region.
The UK is committed to ensuring that those responsible for atrocities are held to account for their actions.
Review foreign policy in respect of Israel
- 73 Signatures
(Estimated Final Signatures: 76 - 1 added in the past 24hrs)
The Government must review its foreign policy in respect of Israel because of concerns about alleged war crimes.
Found: Amnesty International has documented Israeli attacks and says its research points to evidence of war
Oct. 13 2023
Source Page: More than 100,000 incidents of alleged war crimes committed by Russia during the Ukraine conflict: UK statement at the UN Security CouncilFound: More than 100,000 incidents of alleged war crimes committed by Russia during the Ukraine conflict: UK