Committees

Promoting dialogue and preventing atrocities: the UK government approach

Inquiry

Report and Government response published

The International Development Committee has now published a Report on From Srebrenica to a safer tomorrow: Preventing future mass atrocities around the world and concluded Russia’s likely mass atrocities in Ukraine underline the urgent need for the UK to adopt a national strategy for preventing and responding to such crimes.

The report also highlighted the need to confront recent suspected mass atrocities in many other regions of the world, at a time when the United Nations Security Council is often prevented from acting by veto-wielding members and highlighted trends that can fuel future violence, including the strains caused by climate change, threats to democracies, hate speech online and the role of non-state actors in conflict. It judged that, without concerted action, “mass atrocities are likely to become more common, which will constrain global development”.

The Committee said that the UK’s new strategy must: 

  • give greater priority to preventing atrocities by addressing this issue at the highest level of government, within the UK’s recently-created Foreign Policy and Security Council; 
  • allocate appropriate funds and staff to the new atrocity prevention team in the Foreign Office; 
  • ensure that our diplomats abroad are getting the training and support they need to recognize and act on warning signs; and   
  • re-assess whether enough UK aid is reaching countries at risk of atrocities.  

Read the Report here: From Srebrenica to a safer tomorrow: Preventing future mass atrocities around the world

Read the Government response here: From Srebrenica to a safer tomorrow: Preventing future mass atrocities around the world: Government response to the Committee’s Third Report

Upcoming events

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No upcoming events scheduled

Past events

Tuesday 24 May 2022
3:30pm Public
Promoting dialogue and preventing atrocities: the UK government approach - Oral evidence 24 May 2022
3:30pm
  • The Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Minister for South Asia, the United Nations and the Commonwealth at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)
  • Leigh Stubblefield (Office for Conflict, Stabilisation and Mediation at Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)
2:30pm
  • Matthew Field
  • Pete Vowles
Room 5, Palace of Westminster
Tuesday 11 January 2022
2:30pm Public
Promoting dialogue and preventing atrocities: the UK government approach - Oral evidence 11 January 2022
2:30pm
  • Denisa Delić (Advocacy Director at International Rescue Committee)
  • Saidi Zirhumana (Deputy Director at Support Office for Peacebuilding in the DRC (Bureau de Soutien pour la Consolidation de la Paix))
3:15pm
  • Savita Pawnday (Executive Director at Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect)
  • Natalie Samarasinghe (Chief Executive Officer at United Nations Association – UK)
Room 8, Palace of Westminster

Contact us

  • Email: indcom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: 020 7219 1223/3285 (general enquiries) |0207 219 8969 (media enquiries)
  • Address: International Development Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA