Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the US in respect of coalition obligations to exclude from forces preparing to expel Daesh from Mosul any militias which are assessed as lacking respect for (a) human rights and (b) the laws of war; and what assessment he has made in such regards of the Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The coalition goal is to liberate Mosul by expelling Daesh in a way that minimises the humanitarian impact, civilian casualties and human rights abuses and violations. We have spoken to Coalition partners, including the US and the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government, and have made clear that forces taking Mosul need to respect human rights and laws of armed conflict. All training provided by the UK includes Law of Armed Conflict training and an awareness of human rights.

Ultimately the forces used will be determined by the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government. The Coalition however will not support units which it has concerns about, including certain Shia militia units.