Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the New Lines Institute’s publication entitled Genocide in Tigray: Serious Breaches of International Law in the Tigray Conflict, Ethiopia, and the Paths to Accountability.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The 'Genocide in Tigray' report by the New Lines Institute has drawn attention to the conduct of actors during the conflict of 2020-2022. The report is consistent with UN investigations which concluded that all sides committed major human rights violations and abuses, some of which might amount to crimes against humanity. UK policy is that genocide can only be determined by a credible international court. The UK has consistently called for accountability for victims of the conflict in northern Ethiopia and is supporting Ethiopia's transitional justice efforts, including by working with national human rights organisations to enhance evidence collection that could support criminal procedures.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his oral statement of 2 September 2024 on Middle East Update, Official Report, column 37, whether his Department has undertaken a further review of export licenses.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Export licence applications continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. The UK's robust export licensing criteria state that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Following our review into Israel's compliance with IHL in Gaza, this Government has concluded that a clear risk does exist, and we have suspended certain export licences for items that could be used in the current conflict in Gaza.