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The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 August 2023.

The UK has today formally acknowledged that acts of genocide were committed against the Yazidi people by Daesh in 2014.

• Announcement comes ahead of events marking the nine year anniversary of atrocities committed by Daesh against the Yazidi people.
• UK decision follows ruling by the German Federal Court of Justice which found a former Daesh fighter guilty of acts of genocide and crimes against humanity.
• UK continues to play leading role in eradicating Daesh, including through rebuilding affected communities and tackling its poisoning propaganda.

The UK has today formally acknowledged that acts of genocide were committed against the Yazidi people by Daesh in 2014.

The Minister of State for the Middle East Lord Ahmad made the announcement ahead of events marking the nine-year anniversary of atrocities committed by Daesh against the Yazidi people.

Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad, said:

The Yazidi population suffered immensely at the hands of Daesh nine years ago and the repercussions are still felt to this day. Justice and accountability are key for those whose lives have been devastated.

Today we have made the historic acknowledgement that acts of genocide were committed against the Yazidi people. This determination only strengthens our commitment to ensuring that they receive the compensation owed to them and are able to access meaningful justice.

The UK will continue to play a leading role in eradicating Daesh, including through rebuilding communities affected by its terrorism and leading global efforts against its poisonous propaganda.

The UK’s position has always been that determinations of genocide should be made by competent courts, rather than by governments or non-judicial bodies. This determination has been made following the judgment of the German Federal Court of Justice earlier this year, where it found a former Daesh fighter guilty of acts of genocide and crimes against humanity committed in Iraq.

The UK officially acknowledges five instances where genocide has occurred: the Holocaust, Rwanda, Srebrenica and acts of genocide in Cambodia and against the Yazidi people.

During his visit to Iraq earlier this year, including to the Kurdistan region, Lord Ahmad also welcomed progress with the passage of the Yazidi Survivors Law, which will provide reparations to survivors. He underlined the UK’s commitment to helping Iraq fully implement the law and ensure that survivors receive full support and access to justice.

A commemoration event – which is being held in Baghdad – has been organised by Yazidi civil society organisations and will welcome international stakeholders. The UK’s Ambassador to Iraq, Steve Hitchen, will attend and confirm the UK’s announcement.

Further information:

• On 30 November 2021, Frankfurt Higher Regional Court sentenced Taha Al-Jumailly, a former Daesh fighter, to life imprisonment for acts of genocide and crimes against humanity, for the enslavement and abuse of a Yazidi woman and her five-year-old daughter in 2015. On 17 January 2023, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) upheld the Frankfurt ruling and rejected the Defendant’s appeal.
• Though territorially defeated, the fact is that Daesh remains a serious threat in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. The UK continues to support the work of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) and international efforts to bring perpetrators of Daesh violence to justice.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 August 2023.

The Crew of HMS TAMAR refurbished and rededicated a memorial to the 517 British WWII prisoners of war at Ballalae.

When visiting Solomon Islands, the Crew of HMS TAMAR refurbished and rededicated a memorial to the 517 British WWII prisoners of war at Ballalae, Shortland Islands, 80 years after they were executed by Japanese Imperial Forces.

In November 1942, 517 soldiers of the Royal Artillery, prisoners of war captured in the fall of Singapore earlier that year, were transported to the Island of Ballalae, in Shortland Islands, to construct an airfield the Japanese dubbed an ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’.

Over the ensuing months of unrelenting forced labour in the brutal tropical climate, many had died from exhaustion and tropical disease, and hundreds more as a result of allied bombings with their captors forbidding them to build trenches to shelter themselves.

In 1943, as the Allied forces liberated the South Pacific islands, the Japanese Commanders on Ballalae believed that they would be taken next and executed the remaining 57 prisoners.

When US forces took the Northern Solomon Islands they bypassed Ballalae and left it to ‘wither on the vine’ and it wasn’t until 1945 that the first Allied forces landed and discovered the remains of the last 57 in shallow trenches.

An atrocities commission was carried out on the island that led to the discovery of a mass grave from which 436 bodies were exhumed with artefacts identifying them as British artillerymen. They were subsequently re-interred in separate graves at the Bomana War Cemetery near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, their headstones marked with the solemn inscription, ‘Here lies a Soldier, known only to God’.

In 2003, relatives of 3 of the POWs undertook a pilgrimage to Ballalae and dedicated a memorial at the air strip in the form of a cairn with a wooden cross and a plaque donated by the Royal Artillery Association. As it is not a registered Commonwealth war grave it does not receive any regular maintenance and by 2007 the memorial had fallen into disrepair.

An ex-British serviceman, Mr Phil Jones, then working in the Solomon Islands as part of an Australian government mission, kindly re-built the memorial with an iron cross on top of a concrete plinth built over the top of the remains of the old cairn and this is what stands today.

In 2023, 80 years on from the atrocities of 1943, the British High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands, His Excellency Thomas Coward took the opportunity during a visit to the Islands by Royal Navy Vessel, HMS TAMAR to maintain the monument.

After wading ashore across the coral beach of Ballalae, the High Commissioner and HMS TAMAR’s Captain, Commanding Officer Teilo Elliot-Smith were warmly welcomed to the island by the local people from Shortlands.

The crew then got to work removing the rust and grime of 16 years to return the memorial to its former glory before a service of re-dedication was held to remember the soldiers who had died on the island.

The re-dedication service was officiated by HMS TAMAR’s Chaplain, Reverend Mick Uffindell, and attended by the Ship’s crew and representatives of the local community.

During the ceremony, traditional remembrance Red poppy wreaths were laid by the British High Commissioner, His Excellency Thomas Coward, and HMS TAMAR’s Executive Officer, Lieutenant Commander Matt Millyard, alongside hand-made floral bouquets from the Solomon Islanders.

Reflecting on the day, the Chaplain said:

It was an incredible privilege to be able to pay tribute to these servicemen and their families today and in addition to restoring the memorial we placed 517 white stones, one for each individual who lost their life on Ballalae Island.

HMS TAMAR’s Commanding Officer, Commander Teilo Elliot-Smith said:

It has been an honour for the Ship to pay our respects to these British Servicemen. Ballalae is simultaneously the site of a horrific chapter of WWII, in the most inhospitable of places, and now a peaceful and idyllic island. Our sailors were eager to pay their respects and did so beautifully.

His Excellency Thomas Coward said:

It was an honour that we could gather to commemorate and pay our respects to the brave soldiers of the Royal Artillery who died on Ballalae. I want to thank the Government and People of Solomon Islands who supported us to conduct this important act of remembrance. I want to thank the government of Western Province, and the people of Shortland Islands for your warm help and for allowing this memorial to their sacrifice to stand as a reminder of the importance of peace.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 August 2023.

The Foreign Secretary will pledge support to Nigeria’s agriculture sector during a visit to the country.

Foreign Secretary pledges support to make Nigeria’s agriculture sector more resilient to climate change on a visit to Nigeria
Funding will help more than four million people develop better farming practices and reduce harmful carbon emissions
James Cleverly’s trip to Nigeria comes on a three-country visit to Africa where he is prioritising future-focussed, mutually-beneficial partnerships
The Foreign Secretary will announce a new package of support to make Nigeria’s agriculture sector more climate resilient, as he arrives in the country today, continuing his four-day African visit.

More than two thirds of Nigeria’s population depend on agriculture for employment. This new funding will help boost the Nigerian agricultural sector’s productivity and resilience to the impacts of climate change, transforming Nigerian critical agriculture and food systems for the benefit of people, climate and nature. UK support will help to develop heat and flood tolerant crops and increase soil fertility. New support will help grow the UK’s economy by alleviating some of the agricultural trade barriers to UK imports.

It comes on the second leg of the Foreign Secretary’s three-country visit to Africa, where he is prioritising future-focussed, mutually-beneficial relationships.

In Lagos today, he will announce a £10 million UK-backed facility in Nigeria, in partnership with finance company InfraCredit that will unlock funding for sustainable and climate-friendly infrastructure development projects – such as providing renewable energy services to homes in urban areas, as well as green housing.

Tomorrow, in Abuja he will announce a £55 million Propcom+ contract, a UK International Climate Finance programme which aims to support the transformation of Nigeria’s rural economy, and a £2.89 million grant, will support more than four million people across Nigeria to adopt and scale up sustainable agricultural practices. This includes improving the health of animals, making crops more resilient, and introducing cleaner cooking practices. This in turn will help increase productivity, capacity and resilience among small-scale farmers and rural communities across Nigeria while reducing carbon emissions and protecting natural ecosystems.

Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly said:

Nigeria has a booming population and the largest economy in Africa – there is huge potential for an even closer partnership between UK and Nigerian businesses which will be of mutual benefit to both countries.

Together we are focussing on the future, putting in place green, clean measures, both in agriculture and infrastructure development, to create climate-resilient solutions for the global challenges we all face today and will increasingly face in the years to come.

On his first visit to Nigeria, the Foreign Secretary will also visit a UN Humanitarian Air Service centre in Nigeria’s capital Abuja where he will hear how over £38 million of UK funding has helped vulnerable communities in the North-East of Nigeria.

Over four million people are facing food insecurity, and two million children under five are acutely malnourished in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. This funding is helping to protect people, build their resilience to the ongoing food shortage crisis, and prevent famine.

The Foreign Secretary will also meet Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu and National Security Advisor Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to discuss the UK-Nigeria partnership and key common priorities, including how to increase bilateral trade and investment, economic development, regional issues, and strengthened security cooperation.