ISIS fighters returned to the UK must face justice for their genocidal crimes, writes Lord David Alton

14 May 2025, 13:17

By Lord David Alton

5000 Yazidis and other minorities were murdered in the ISIS genocide in Syria and Iraq.

Nearly 3000 women and girls were abducted, raped and enslaved: many are still missing. UK nationals took part in these atrocities. Some have since returned to the UK.

Around 30 have been prosecuted for terror related offences but none have been prosecuted for these atrocious crimes

Whilst welcome that the UK investigative and prosecuting authorities have taken some steps to hold these British citizens to account it is unacceptable that they should not be prosecuted for international crimes such as genocide - as they have been in countries like Germany.

These are some of the most heinous crimes to have occurred this century. Genocide is the crime above all crimes.

In a unanimous all-party report of parliamentarians from both Houses, we urge the Government to act.

We suggest that the Government develop a better framework to ensure that our law enforcement agencies are coordinated in collecting the intelligence to allow prosecutions to take place.

We also call for a change in the law.

At present, domestic prosecutions for certain international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes – are limited to UK nationals and residents.

We call for universal jurisdiction to be explicitly allowed in statute for certain international crimes, allowing the prosecution of individuals regardless of their links to the UK. There is currently legislation before Parliament which could be amended to do this.

There needs to be a reset of the UK’s practical approach to dealing with these crimes. One of the levers that the UK has employed against people who enlisted as Jihadists has been the deprivation of their citizenship. Better oversight is needed to ensure it is used appropriately and not a substitute for prosecution and accountability.

Finally, we cannot forget that there are children who are UK nationals being held in appalling conditions in the camps in North East Syria. There are reports that they are without adequate access to food or medicine and at risk of violence. We cannot leave these children to become radicalised themselves and carry on the risk to a new generation. The Government must urgently establish the identity and numbers of these children and come forward with proposals for their care and resettlement.