The Genocide Prevention All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) was formed at an inaugural meeting in the House of Commons on the 19th of July 2005. Over 120 Parliamentarians have joined the group. Administration and research for the APPG is carried out by the Aegis Trust.
Claire Short MP and John Bercow MP were the founding Chairs of the APPG.
The Genocide Prevention APPG was formed to:
- Ensure that the United Kingdom does all it can to prevent genocides and crimes against humanity;
- Increase the flow of independent information and analysis to UK Parliamentarians about genocides and crimes against humanity;
- Support Parliamentarians so as to increase the effectiveness of their scrutiny of government, and;
- Promote understanding of the importance of long term approaches to genocide prevention.
At the group's fourth AGM on the 10th November 2008, John Bercow MP (Conservative) was elected as Chair of the group and Mary Creagh MP (Labour) and Baron Dholakia (Liberal Democrat) were elected as Vice Chairs of the group. For a full list of members of the group please click here.
At the group's fifth AGM on 16th November 2010, Stephen Crabb MP (Conservative) was elected as Chair of the group and Eric Joyce MP (Labour) and Lord Carlile QC (Liberal Democrat) were elected as Vice Chairs of the group. For a full list of members of the group please click here.
All Party Parliamentary Groups are ad-hoc committees which are formed at the discretion of its members. They are required to have members from all the main UK political parties. You can find more information on APPGs and the UK Parliament here: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/memi01.htm
For more information about the Genocide Prevention APPG, please contact:
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On July 7th 2009, the Genocide Prevention APPG and the Aegis Trust secured a major victory in the campaign to strengthen British law on genocide, war crimes and crimes againt humanity. The Chairs of the Genocide Prevention APPG, John Bercow and Mary Creagh have actively campaigned for a change to the law in this area. Until the government's announcement people could only be prosecuted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity if they committed those crimes after 2001. This does not cover those suspected of involvement in, say, the Rwandan genocide, or atrocities committed in Bosnia. On 7th July 2009, the government announced that it was going to backdate jurisdiction to January 1991. The Secretary of State for Justice acknowledged the direct role played by the Genocide Prevention APPG in bringing about this change to the law.
'I am grateful to those who have campaigned for the change and raised it for debate in the context of the Coroners and Justice Bill. I met John Bercow and Mary Creagh from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Genocide Prevention in May and they made a very powerful case for the inclusion of genocide as an extra-territorial offence within our law. Since then I have consulted widely with colleagues about the best way to proceed, and this announcement is the result of those discussions.' Rt. Hon Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State for Justice, speaking about the government's proposed changes to the law on genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, July 7th 2009
Current themes
The APPG Genocide Prevention is focused this year on strengthening British law on genocide, war crimes and crimes aganist humanity. For more information on this parliamentary campaign, please click here.
Future/Planned Meetings:
Please check back soon.
Previous Meetings and Events
Tuesday 16th March 2010: ''The Genocide and Anfal campaign in Iraqi Kurdistan', Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, 10.00-13,00. This seminar is held in association with the Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in the UK and the APPG on the Kurdistan Region. The sessions will be chaired by David Anderson MP and Eric Joyce MP (Vice-Chair of APPG Genocide Prevention). Speakers include Richard Beeston (former foreign editor of The Times), Dr Kamal Kirkuki, Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament and Kathryn Bomberger, Secretary General of the International Commission on Missing Persons.
16th November 2009: Meeting with Dr Francis Deng, UN Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide, Committee Room 6, House of Commons, 18.30-20.00. This meeting will be chaired by Stephen Crabb MP and Lord Hannay and is being held in association with the APPG Great Lakes and the United Nations Association UK. Spaces are limited. If you would like to attend please RSVP to Chris Levick, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , stating your professional affiliation.
1st April 2009: Rwandan Genocide Memorial Service, in association with the Great Lakes APPG. This event was chaired by Eric Joyce MP and other speakers included the Rwandan Ambassador, HE Claver Gatete, Director of Aegis Trust, Dr James Smith and David Russell, Director of the Rwanda Survivor's Fund (SURF) . Rwandan survivors were also present and readings were given by the Minister for Africa, Lord Malloch Brown and Stephen Crabb MP.
12th March 2009: Visit from Paul Dewar MP, Chair of the Canadian All Party Parliamentary Group on Genocide Prevention.
24th February 2009: Informal discussion with Lawrence Woocher, Senior Program Officer for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, United States Institute for Peace and co-author of 'Preventing Genocide: A Blue-Print for US Policy Makers', the final report of the Genocide Prevention Taskforce, chaired by Madeline Albright and William S Cohen.
28nd January 2009: Roundtable discussion with Natasa Kandic, Director, Humanitarian Law Centre, Belgrade: 'Truth and Reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia'. To read Natasa Kandic's presentation please click here.
10th November 2008: 'Africa's Hope: Supporting Reconciliation and Progress in Rwanda' - Parliamentary performance of Rwandan youth dance troop 'Mashirika', held in association with the Great Lakes APPG. Followed by a panel discussion with Rwandan Ambassor H.E Claver Gatete and Aegis Trust Director, Dr James Smith. Chaired by Eric Joyce MP and John Bercow MP. For more information about Mashirika's 2008 UK tour, please click here.
21st October 2008: 'UK law on international crimes: More than just words?', speech by the UK Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald QC. Chaired by Mary Creagh MP and Ann Clywd MP and held in conjunction with the Parliamentary Human Rights Group. For an event report please click here. For a copy of Sir Ken Macdonald's speech click here. To find out more about the APPG's campaign to strengthen UK law on international crimes please click here.
22nd July 2008: Act for Darfur Event ‘Testimony’, Anna Chancellor and Dennis Lawson, two great British actors retell the testimonies of Darfuri survivors living in the UK. Exhibitions and artwork also on display.
Held in conjunction with Act for Darfur and the Sudan APG.
30th June 2008: The Threat of War: Abyei and Sudan’s Fragile Peace. Roundtable discussions with experts including Sara Pantuliano, Sudan Expert, Overseas Development Institute, Julie Flint, Journalist and Sudan Expert, and Dr Douglas H Johnson, Oxford University, International Expert on Abyei Boundary Commission. Click here for Abyei context paper.
Held in conjunction with the Sudan APG.
7th May 2008 - Presentation by Luis Moreno Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
29th November 2007 - Third AGM and A Force for Good: Briefing on the UNAMID & MINURCAT Forces to be Deployed to Darfur, Chad and Central African Republic with the Rt. Hon. Douglas Alexander MP (Secretary of State at the Department for International Development and Lord Malloch Brown (Minister of State for Africa, Asia and the UN).
27th June 2007 - Genocide Denial and the UK Government's 'Ethical Foreign Policy'
19th June 2007 - Divestment Campaign and Oil Trust Fund Proposal
24th October 2006 – Genocide Prevention APPG Second AGM
11th of July 2006 – Meeting with John Reid (Private Meeting)
10th July 2006 - Meeting with Gareth Evans
Crimes Against Humanity in Africa: Operationalising the Responsibility to Protect
1st June 2006 – Report Launch and Press Conference. To watch a recording of this event please visit our films page.
Safe as Ghost Houses: Prospects for Darfur African Survivors Removed to Khartoum
27th April 2006 - Meeting of Executives of the Genocide Prevention APPG
15th March 2006 – Meeting with Hilary Benn
Sudan: Prospects for Peace & UK Government Policy
Sudan Associate Parliamentary Group & Genocide Prevention All Party Parliamentary Group
8 February 2006 – Meeting with Robert Cooper and John Kampfner
The Politics of Intervention - Order and Chaos in the 21st Century.
Held in conjunction with the Great Lakes Region APPG, Global Security and Non Proliferation APPG, World Government APG, Sudan APG and Human Rights APG, Genocide Prevention APG.
24 January 2006 – Meeting with Roméo Dallaire and Mukesh Kapila.
The Politics of Intervention - Saving Lives and the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ . To watch a recording of this event please click visit our films page.
Held in conjunction with the Great Lakes Region APPG, Global Security and Non Proliferation APPG, World Government APG, Sudan APG and Human Rights APG, Genocide Prevention APG.
19th January 2006 – Meeting with Lord Triesman (Private Meeting in Ministerial Office)
24th October 2005 – Meeting with Juan Mendez (Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide) - Parliamentary Meeting.
3rd September 2005 - APPG Meeting with Juan Mendez (Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nation on the Prevention of Genocide) - Meeting outside of Parliament.