Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the UN and the International Criminal Court to ensure they take action in cases in which civilian populations are besieged and deprived of food and medicines as a method of waging war.

James Duddridge

The United Kingdom has co-sponsored resolutions at the United Nations Security Council that call for an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including illegal siege tactics and obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. The International Criminal Court can take action when a war crime or crime against humanity is suspected to have been committed in or by a country which is party to the Rome Statute, or when a situation is referred to them by the UN Security Council. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited in international and internal conflicts. We will continue to work with our international partners to look at every available option to ensure all State and non-state actors engaged in armed conflict respect International Humanitarian Law and act in accordance with their obligations there under.