HL Deb 10 January 2000 vol 608 cc83-4WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they changed their minds from the policy articulated by the Lord Williams of Mostyn on second reading of the Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Bill (H.L. Deb., 15 July 1997, col. 989) that they could not support the criminalisation of offences under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions in the United Kingdom domestic law. [HL294]

Lord Bassam of Brighton

In the debate on 15 July 1997,Official Report, col. 991, Lord Williams of Mostyn emphasised that "the best approach to these issues is to deal with them on the basis of international consensus". The Statute of the International Criminal Court gives jurisdiction to the Court over serious violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions; we gave this provision our strong support during the Rome Diplomatic Conference, which adopted the Statute.