Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the decision by Germany to give refuge to 1,000 Yazidi women and girls freed from Islamic State slavery, whether they will table the Resolution of the European Parliament declaring a genocide against Yazidis and Christians in Syria and Iraq at the UN Security Council.

As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), and other ministers have explained in response to similar questions, it is the long-standing policy of successive governments that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred are a matter for the international judicial system rather than legislatures, governments or other non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations of International Humanitarian Law, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes. We welcome the European Parliament resolution. However, European Parliament resolutions are not binding and do not create legal obligations on Member States. We have no plans to table this resolution at the UN Security Council.

Ultimately, the best way of preventing future atrocities is to defeat Daesh and its violent ideology. That’s why the UK is playing a leading role in a Global Coalition of 66 countries and international organisations to respond to Daesh’s inhumanity.