(High Peak) (Con): If he will make a statement on his
departmental responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs and First Secretary of State (): Since the last oral questions, I have visited east
Africa. I have also visited Cyprus, where I met President
Anastasiades and the Turkish Cypriot leader in support of the
peace initiative and the UN talks. On 18 February, I met our E3
partners in Paris and also the new Secretary of State, Tony
Blinken, to co-ordinate our approach to Iran. Finally, I am sure
the whole House will be pleased to hear that the international
community has elected not just the first British female judge in
the International Criminal Court but the first
British chief prosecutor.
(Lancaster
and Fleetwood) (Lab): I draw the Secretary of State’s attention
to War on Want’s new report into Israel’s military court system
in the occupied west bank. Does he agree that Palestinian
civilians should not be tried in military courts? What is his
Government doing to support Palestinian human rights defenders
who are being tried in them?
: The hon. Lady is right to draw attention to the
treatment of Palestinians. The reality is that I do not think
there is a bar on the use of military systems of justice under
international law—let alone under the International
Criminal Court system. Indeed, we use a military justice
system with some of the highest standards in the world. What is
crucial is that there is adequate due process to ensure that
people’s rights can be fairly and duly heard.
