"The closure of the international humanitarian law cell follows a review by Olly Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Foreign Office dismissed last week by the prime minister over the Peter Mandelson scandal."
"The decision also means funding for the Conflict and Security Monitoring Project run by the Centre for Information Resilience will end, impacting the monitoring of incidents across Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon."
"Officials have been warned the closure of the Conflict and Security Monitoring project will mean the Foreign Office will lose access to a database of 26,000 verified incidents in the Middle East."
"The database holds information on incidents stretching back to 7 October 2023, the day Hamas fighters launched the surprise mass attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mainly civilians."
The closure of the Foreign Office's international humanitarian law cell results from departmental budget cuts. This decision follows a review by Olly Robbins and comes shortly after the foreign secretary emphasized the importance of international law. The closure also ends funding for the Conflict and Security Monitoring Project, which provided critical data on human rights incidents in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon. The loss of access to a database containing 26,000 verified incidents will hinder the Foreign Office's ability to monitor trends and assess arms export control licenses.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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