Debate on the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide
8 May 2014
On Thursday 8 May, MPs took part in a debate on a motion relating to the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. This debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee following representations from Dr Julian Huppert, Mr Martin Horwood and Mr Brooks Newmark.
Watch the debate and read the transcript
This debate followed the motions to debate House of Commons business, including petitions, programming, parliamentary privilege and amendments to Standing Orders. This debate was opened by Mr Brooks Newmark.
- Watch Parliament TV: Debate on the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide
- Read Commons Hansard: Debate on the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide
Text of the Motion
"That this House commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, when over the course of a 100-day period in 1994 at least 800,000 Rwandans were murdered; and calls on the Government to reinforce its commitment to the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine and to working within the UN to promote international justice and to avoid mass atrocities which are still committed across the globe today."
How the subject was selected
The subject for this debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee following representation from Dr Julian Huppert, Mr Martin Horwood and Mr Brooks Newmark at the public meeting on Tuesday 11 March 2014.
- Parliament TV: Backbench Business Committee on 11 March 2014
- Transcript of oral evidence heard on 11 March 2014
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee meets weekly on Tuesdays at 3pm to consider requests for debates from any backbench Members of Parliament on any subject, including those raised in e-petitions or national campaigns.
An MP must make a representation before the Committee for an e-petition or petition to be debated; e-petitions exceeding the Government's 100,000 signature threshold are not automatically allocated backbench time.
The Committee then has to decide how to allocate the limited Parliamentary time it has at its disposal. The Committee's meetings are always conducted in public and can be watched on Parliament TV.