Sudan: US Determination of Genocide Debate
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Andy Slaughter
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Sudan: US Determination of Genocide
Andy Slaughter Excerpts(2 days, 13 hours ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
I will be brief so that we can get to more questions, Madam Deputy Speaker. I can inform the hon. Lady that, following that truly disturbing determination by the IPC, the UK requested an urgent open briefing at the UN Security Council on 6 January, in which we called for a lifting of all bureaucratic impediments, improved humanitarian access and a political solution to the conflict, so that the food and nutrition catastrophe does not deepen further.
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)
The Minister says that the US process for identifying genocide is different from ours. Where does she think we are in that process, and what role does she see for the Law Officers in making a determination? If it is a question of evidence, would she not be wise to follow the suggestion of the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) to fund the office of the African Union special envoy on the prevention of genocide?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that subject, about which we talked a little previously. To underline the UK’s position, we believe it important that there are international mechanisms for determinations on these critical issues because there must be international trust for those determinations to carry weight. That is the UK’s approach. When it comes to accountability, evidence gathering and acting on the evidence, we have sought to ensure that the UK supports those mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court. I have talked before about the UK’s contribution to that Court.