Genocide Determination Bill [HL]

Lord Cashman Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 17th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Cashman (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, as other noble Lords have done, I congratulate my friend, the noble Lord, Lord Alton of Liverpool, on this extremely important Bill and on his commitment to this issue, which reaches back across decades. I am proud to speak along with others who support the Bill. I wish to associate with every word from my noble friend Lady Kennedy of The Shaws.

We have witnessed acts of genocide around the globe and, despite the weasel words of denial, we are still witnessing nothing short of the attempt to extinguish national, ethnic, racial, religious and other groups. Srebrenica, Rwanda, Sudan, Cambodia, China, the Palestinians in Gaza—sadly, the list goes on. These are genocides that happened and are still happening before our eyes. The atrocious events that are often cited to excuse the inhumane onslaught against a national, ethnic, racial or religious group can never be justified. Innocent women, men and children are maimed, injured and killed, and protests are dismissed by the politicians enacting such inhumane behaviour. They pronounce the dead and maimed as collateral damage or cite that innocents are being used as shields by their enemies.

The House does not need me to explain that modern warfare provides means and methods that do not need to bring about such human carnage. How is it ever legitimate to kill innocent people who are used as shields? It can never be legitimised, and, in a civilised world, it can never be excused or accepted. Whenever genocide, or the attempt at genocide, occurs, we need to call it out, otherwise the legal order is lost and will sink into an unimaginable void where the lives of innocents, the weak and often the impoverished—women, children and men, the elderly and the infirm—are targeted by the strongest and sacrificed by cowards.

There are those who will question and argue with my opinions and my submission. That is the luxury we enjoy at the moment in our democracy. There will be those who point the finger at me and potentially make accusations, especially in relation to my statement on the treatment of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the genocide there, but I stand by my words with no excuse. The acts of genocidal politicians must be scrutinised by the courts, and each of them must be held accountable. Otherwise, the international legal order on which we have relied for so long will be lost for ever—particularly, and sadly, given that the United States under President Trump has joined those states blatantly disregarding the rule of the international legal order. Despite what the Minister may say at the Dispatch Box, and despite what other Governments have said, I believe it is time for the UK to simply give a lead. I say this to the Government and to others: silence or appeasement will only embolden the bully and encourage others, and lead to the sacrifice of the lives of millions more innocent people.