Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, following the statement by the Foreign Secretary on 10 September (HC Deb, col 915) reporting that, in the areas of Iraq and Syria controlled by ISIS, there have been targeted killings, forced religious conversions, abductions, trafficking, slavery and systematic sexual abuse on the basis of ethnicity and religion, they have asked the United Nations Security Council to refer those responsible to the International Criminal Court or to seek the creation of a Regional Tribunal.

We strongly condemn all human rights abuses in Iraq and Syria. The UK has a long-standing commitment to accountability and this will not alter.

The UN Security Council can refer situations, not individuals, to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor for investigation. In both Iraq and Syria, we will continue to look at every available option to ensure accountability, and to work with our international partners on what can be done to both assist the victims and to bring those responsible to justice.

In Syria, we fully support the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry and will continue to call for them to be given unfettered access to investigate human rights violations and abuses. We will intensify these efforts to ensure that those responsible face justice, including by funding the documentation of atrocities. We will also look to expand the EU sanctions regime to cover more people responsible for human rights violations. The moderate opposition have been clear in their support for international law in general and referral to the ICC in particular.