Oral Answers to Questions

Marco Longhi Excerpts

Tuesday 21st June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Vicky Ford]

We have been in close contact with members of Dom’s family. We will continue to give consular support to them at this time and through the next processes related to this tragic event.

[Marco Longhi (Dudley North) (Con)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to help protect women and girls from the use of rape and sexual violence in conflict.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Elizabeth Truss)]

The use of rape and sexual violence in conflict is a war crime, and I have made tackling it a top priority. The UK is campaigning for it to be treated as a red line on a par with the use of chemical weapons. We will host a conference against sexual violence in November.

[Marco Longhi]

We have had terrible reports of rape and sexual assault by Russian troops in Ukraine. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure safe and effective evidence collection, so that those responsible can be held to account?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We have seen appalling reports of atrocities and the use of rape and sexual violence. We launched the Murad code earlier this year, which sets the global standard for safe evidence collecting. We have dispatched a team from the United Kingdom to the region to help with that evidence collection—by interviewing witnesses and survivors and preserving and collecting images and videos, for example.