Règle correspondante
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Practice Relating to Rule 130. Transfer of Own Civilian Population into Occupied Territory
The UK Military Manual (1958) provides: “The Occupant is not permitted to deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population to occupied territory.”
United Kingdom, The Law of War on Land being Part III of the Manual of Military Law, The War Office, HMSO, 1958, § 560.
The UK LOAC Manual (2004) states:
Members of the occupying power’s own civilian population may not be transferred to occupied territory … Unlawful deportation or transfer is a grave breach of the [Fourth Geneva] Convention.
United Kingdom, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, Ministry of Defence, 1 July 2004, §§ 11.55–11.55.1 11 .
In its chapter on enforcement of the law of armed conflict, the manual notes:
Additional Protocol I extends the definition of grave breaches to include the following:
…
c. the following, when committed wilfully and in violation of the Conventions or the protocol:
(1) the transfer by the occupying power of part of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory.
United Kingdom, The Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, Ministry of Defence, 1 July 2004, § 16.25(c)(1).
The UK Geneva Conventions Act (1957), as amended in 1995, punishes:
any person, whatever his nationality, who, whether in or outside the United Kingdom, commits, or aids, abets or procures the commission by any other person of, a grave breach of … [the 1977 Additional Protocol I].
United Kingdom, Geneva Conventions Act, 1957, as amended in 1995, Section 1(1).
Under the UK ICC Act (2001), it is a punishable offence to commit a war crime as defined in Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the 1998 ICC Statute.
United Kingdom, ICC Act, 2001, Sections 50(1) and 51(1) (England and Wales) and Section 58(1) (Northern Ireland).
In 2003, in a memorandum addressed to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the UK Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated: “Israeli settlements in the territories it occupied in June 1967 are illegal under international law.”
United Kingdom, Letter to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee from the Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 28 January 2003, published in House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism: Second Report of Session 2003–2004, 15 January 2004, Evidence, Ev 42.
In 2003, in a briefing paper on Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated:
HMG [Her Majesty’s Government], together with the rest of the international community, regard Israeli settlements in the territories which Israel occupied in June 1967 as illegal under international law (including under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention).
United Kingdom, Letter to the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee from the Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 28 January 2003, published in House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism: Second Report of Session 2003–2004, 15 January 2004, Evidence, Ev 42.
In 2003, during a debate in the House of Lords, the UK Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated:
My Lords, I very much thank the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, for his welcome remarks. I heard what my right honourable friend the Prime Minister said about illegal settlements. They are illegal under international law. We believe that they are an obstacle to peace and that Israel should freeze all settlement activity.
…
My Lords, settlement activity and the security fence are causes of great concern to Her Majesty’s Government. Settlement activity has increased during the past year; it is important to keep that issue in the forefront of our minds. We are concerned about the 360 kilometre-long fence, to which the noble Lord referred, which takes up so much Palestinian land and separates families. Our embassy in Tel Aviv has raised with the Israeli Government our concern about the location and the impact of the security fence. We fully understand Israel’s need to take steps within the law to protect itself from terrorist attack, but that must be achieved through a negotiated peace, not by measures such as the security fence.
United Kingdom, House of Lords, Statements by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 25 February 2003, Vol. 645, Debates, cols. 120–121.
In 2004, in a written ministerial statement, the UK Minister for the Middle East stated that “settlement building cannot be defended on security grounds. It undermines trust in the region and is illegal under international law”.
United Kingdom, House of Commons, Written ministerial statement by the Minister for the Middle East, Hansard, 12 October 2004, Vol. 425, Written Ministerial Statements, col. 13WS.
In 2005, in a written answer to a question concerning, inter alia, the planned construction and expansion of various Israeli settlements, the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated:
We have made frequent representations to the Israeli Government expressing our concern over continued settlement activity … We have also made clear our view that settlements are illegal under international law.
United Kingdom, House of Commons, Written answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 7 March 2005, Vol. 431, Written Answers, col. 1573W.
In 2005, in a written answer to a question concerning, inter alia, the expansion of settlements, the UK Minister of State for the Middle East, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated:
The UK Government’s consistent view is that, while Israel has the right to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks such as suicide bombings, which we condemn absolutely, Israel must act within international law. Settlement construction and the building of the barrier on occupied land are contrary to international law.
United Kingdom, House of Commons, Written answer by the Minister of State for the Middle East, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 5 July 2005, Vol. 436, Written Answers, col. 330W.
In 2006, in a written answer to a question in the House of Commons concerning “representations the Government has made to the Israeli Government on Israel taking more Palestinian land for settlements”, the UK Minister of State for the Middle East, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated:
We will continue to raise our concerns over the settlements and the barrier with the Israeli Government at all levels.
Our ambassador in Tel Aviv last raised our concerns about settlements and impact of the barrier in East Jerusalem with the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 19 December 2005. He also raised Palestinian access to the Jordan Valley on 2 March with the Israeli Prime Minister’s Special Adviser.
Settlements are illegal under international law and settlement construction is an obstacle to peace.
United Kingdom, House of Commons, Written answer by the Minister of State for the Middle East, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 13 March 2006, Vol. 443, Written Answers, cols. 1905W.
In 2006, in a written answer to a question in the House of Commons concerning “whether it is Government policy to regard the Green Line as the border of Israel”, the UK Minister of State for the Middle East, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated:
Settlement building on Palestinian land is illegal under international law and settlement construction is an obstacle to peace. The barrier’s route should be on or behind the Green Line, and not on occupied territory. Construction of the barrier on Palestinian land is also illegal. We continue to raise both of these issues with the Israeli Government at all levels.
United Kingdom, House of Commons, Written answer by the Minister of State for the Middle East, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 15 March 2006, Vol. 443, Written Answers, cols. 2379W–2380W.
In 2007, in a written answer to a question in the House of Lords concerning the situation in Palestine, the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated:
We also call on Israel to route the barrier on or behind the Green Line and freeze all settlement activity and dismantle all outposts built since 2001. The routing of the barrier and the construction of settlements on occupied land is illegal. We continue to raise these issues with the Israeli Government.
United Kingdom, House of Lords, Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 8 January 2007, Vol. 688, Debates, col. WA29.
In 2007, in a written answer to a question in the House of Lords concerning Israeli settlements on the West Bank, the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated: “Settlements are illegal under international law.”
United Kingdom, House of Lords, Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 31 January 2007, Vol. 689, Debates, col. WA53.
In 2007, in a written answer to a question in the House of Commons concerning the marketing and purchasing of property for sale in the occupied Palestinian Territories, the UK Minister of State for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated:
We regard all settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as illegal under international law and have repeatedly raised our concerns about settlement activity with the Israeli Government. The Government do not advise or encourage companies and organisations to market or sell property in the settlements, however it is not unlawful to do so under UK law.
United Kingdom, House of Commons, Statement by the Minister of State for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 16 April 2007, Vol. 459, Written Answers, col. 39W.
In 2007, in a written answer to a question in the House of Commons concerning the Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, the UK Minister of State for Trade, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated: “Settlements are illegal under international law.”
United Kingdom, House of Commons, Statement by the Minister of State for Trade, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 25 June 2007, Vol. 462, Written Answers, col. 209W.
In 2007, in a written answer to a question in the House of Lords concerning Israeli settlement activity, the UK Minister of State for Africa, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, stated: “Settlements are illegal under international law.”
United Kingdom, House of Lords, Statement by the Minister of State for Africa, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hansard, 12 December 2007, Vol. 697, Written Answers, col. WA69.
