Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are planning to review the approaches taken to address the involvement of UK citizens and residents in the Yazidi genocide; and whether they are initiating and pursuing judicial proceedings for genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes inflicted on the Yazidi people.

In August 2023, the UK Government announced that it acknowledges acts of genocide were committed by Daesh against the Yazidis. This sends a strong signal of the UK's commitment of support to Yazidi communities and has been welcomed by Yazidi people, including the Yazidi Prince, Kurdish Regional Government Prime Minister Barzani, and British Parliamentarians. The UK is committed to ensuring that those responsible for the commission of serious international crimes do not go unpunished. Universal jurisdiction has been adopted in the case of certain heinous crimes to accord with customary international law and to comply with the UK's international obligations as set out in various treaties. These include the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture. The UK is committed to help other countries to prosecute offences that take place on their territory or within their jurisdiction, including the investigation and prosecution of crimes to which universal jurisdiction may apply. Hence, the UK has arrangements to provide mutual legal assistance to other countries and permits the surrender of its own nationals subject to statutory safeguards.