The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2016-04-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conversations they have had with other members of the UN Security Council about referring the actions of Daesh against religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq to the International Criminal Court for further investigation.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We condemn in the strongest terms the targeting and persecution of Yezidis, Christians and other communities by Daesh. We continue to urge the Government of Iraq to do all it can to ensure the security and rights of all communities in Iraq.

We are working with international partners, including members of the UN Security Council, to look at all options to ensure accountability for human rights abuses and violations committed in Iraq.

Although the UN Security Council can refer situations to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor for investigation, we believe that any decision on further investigations must be made on the basis of what will be the most effective means of bringing perpetrators of atrocities to justice.