Catholic peer Alton condemns Cameron resistance to labelling Christian persecution as genocide

The Catholic peer Lord (David) Alton has accused the Government of resisting efforts to declare the actions of the so-called Islamic State (Isis) against Christians as "genocide".

Last month Lord Alton was among those who wrote to the Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to reconsider the Government’s failure to use the term to describe the jihadists’ crucifixions, beheadings and mass murders.

If Isis atrocities were recognised as "genocide", Britain could refer the group to the International Criminal Court. It would have a responsibility under the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide to protect the victims and punish those responsible. The Catholic cross-bencher told The Tablet that in his response Mr Cameron argued that historically the Government had not declared atrocities "genocides" because such a step was for the courts to take.

Lord Alton condemned this as "a circular argument" – "to declare a genocide you have to have a court to declare it". He added: "Not only has the Government not asked a British court to do so, it has not asked the International Criminal Court to do so." 

He inferred from the Government's position "a sense of 'please don’t trouble me with these realities' and "we've [already] been so generous with aid for refugees". Last year Mr Cameron recorded an Easter message in which he said: "We have a duty to speak out about the persecution of Christians around the world."

Lord Alton accused the Government of being "long on rhetoric and short on action". He said the Prime Minister "does seem sincere" in his praise of Christianity, in which case he “should be willing to stand up for those who are dying for it”.

He believed that ministers now took religious freedom “less seriously” than they did when Baroness (Sayeeda) Warsi was the Faith and Communities Minister.

Lord Alton is planning to propose with Baroness Cox, Lord Forsyth and Baroness Nicholson that a Supreme Court judge examine the claims that Isis actions against Christians should be declared as “genocide”. The European Parliament and the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs have both backed the declaration.

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