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Armed Conflict

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Question for Foreign and Commonwealth Office

UIN HL1482, tabled on 23 July 2014

Question

Lord Warner
Labour
Life peer
Lords

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they use to determine whether military action, such as that by Israel in Gaza, is proportionate.

Answer

Baroness Warsi
Conservative
Life peer
Lords

Answered on

30 July 2014

The UK’s criteria for determining whether military action is proportionate are set out in the Joint Service Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict (Ministry of Defence publication available on our website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-manual-of-the-law-of-armed-conflict-amendments-to-the-text), which states that the losses resulting from a military action should not be excessive in relation to the expected military advantage.

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office