Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that declaring acts as genocide should be a determination made by (1) the Government, (2) Parliament, or (3) the courts; and in particular, which of these bodies it considers should determine whether the events of 1915 in Armenia constituted genocide.

The events of 1915-1916 were a tragic episode in the history of the Armenian people and they must never be forgotten. The UK Government of the day condemned the massacres and this Government fully endorses that view.

It is the long-standing policy of the British Government that determination of genocide should be made by a competent court, rather than by the UK government or a non-judicial body. It should be decided after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process. Competent courts in respect of genocide include international courts and domestic criminal courts meeting international standards of due process.