Information connected to the war crimes team
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.027641
I note you seek access to the following information:
Confirmation of how the War Crimes Team selects the languages the war crimes reporting portal are adapted into (currently Ukrainian and Russian)
1. Details of the criteria the War Crimes Team uses to decide which international incidents to respond to.
2. Details of the objectives, that responses to international incidents, are designed to fulfil.
3. Details of the list of factors that are taken into consideration when deciding how to respond to an international incident.
4.Details of the criteria the War Crimes Team uses to select the communities they will proactively engage with in the UK
5. Any policies or other documentation the War Crime Team hold as to the approach taken when selecting and responding to international incidents
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the requested information to you where it is held by the MPS, relating to Question 1. With regards to Questions 2-6, the MPS does not hold the information requested, therefore I am unable to provide a response to this element of your request.
Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act).
Reason for decision
I have been advised by the War Crimes Team that information is not held relating to Questions 2-6 of your request and would like to explain why this is the case in this instance.
The War Crimes Team do not respond directly to ‘international incidents’. This is a very broad term and could include a multitude of events, many of which the team would not be involved with. The team does not hold set criteria, objectives or factors, or policies or other guidance documents that would determine their response to such incidents (i.e. relating to Questions 2-4 and Question 6 of your request).
Similarly, regarding Question 5 of your request, the War Crimes Team do not hold any criteria relating to the selection of particular communities within the UK to engage with.
Disclosure
Q1 - Details of the criteria the War Crimes Team uses to decide which international incidents to respond to.
I can confirm the following regarding Question 1. The war crimes reporting portal was initially solely in English, but as a consequence of the conflict in Ukraine, and, the likely migration of Ukrainians to the UK this was reviewed. Consequently, the war crimes reporting portal was developed to include Ukrainian and Russian language options. The War Crimes Team are currently engaging with the MPS’s Media and Communications Directorate to scope whether the reporting portal can be developed to include a greater number of languages.
In addition, I understand that you may have been in contact with the War Crimes Team directly, and provided with some additional information outside of the Act. I include this in our response for completeness.
A description of the remit of the War Crimes Team can be found at the following location: What is a war crime
An understanding of when the War Crimes Team would open an investigation can be found at the following location: War Crimes/Crimes Against Humanity Referral Guidelines