Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the UK was represented at the Paris Peace Forum hosted by President Macron on 11 November.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Lord Bates, Minister of State at the Department for International Development, led the UK delegation to the Paris Peace Forum.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they were not represented at the Summit on the Syrian conflict on 27 October in Istanbul.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We support all efforts to end the Syria conflict. The meeting in Istanbul on 27 October was a one-off summit at Turkey's initiative with the aim of bridging differences between members of the Syria Small Group and the Astana guarantors (Russia, Iran, Turkey). We worked with France, Germany and Turkey in advance of the summit and hosted a meeting of the Syria Small Group on 29 October to agree next steps. We would expect to be involved were the summit to develop into a continuing process.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the outcome of the Helsinki Summit on 16 July between President Trump and President Putin.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We have been clear that a functioning relationship between Russia and the US is in all our interests. As the Prime Minister set out at Chequers with President Trump, we welcome the initiative to meet with President Putin.
We have also always been clear that as we engage Russia we do so from a position of unity and strength - holding out hope for a better future, but also clear and unwavering on where Russia needs to change its behaviour for this to become a reality. And, as long as Russia persists in its efforts to undermine our interests and values, we must continue to deter and counter them.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the long-term governance of Syria; and, in particular, whether they still consider that President Assad should only remain in office for a short transitional period.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The rule of the Asad regime has caused untold human suffering in Syria, fuelled instability and terrorism and created the space for Daesh. We believe that in the long term Syria needs an inclusive government which can unite the country and protect the rights of all Syrians. A political settlement in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 is the only sustainable solution to the Syrian crisis.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will re-consider their financial support for the White Helmets in Syria following the United States' suspension of its funding.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK remains committed to supporting Syrian Civil Defence (also known as the White Helmets) and the vital work they do providing life-saving assistance to civilians affected by Syria's conflict.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to all non-lethal alternatives to military action in Syria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The decision by the UK, US and France to conduct a carefully targeted military action to degrade and deter further use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime was only taken because all non-military options had been exhausted. These efforts have included a negotiated agreement with the regime, guaranteed by Russia, to declare and give up all its chemical weapons capabilities, but the regime and Russia have subsequently failed to respect their commitments. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism to attribute responsibility for attacks was established but later blocked by Russia. Russia has also vetoed any attempt at the Security Council to hold those responsible to account. The EU has brought sanctions against those involved in the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Regrettably these diplomatic efforts had proved insufficient to prevent continued chemical attacks. The UK Government remains clear that the UN-led Geneva process between the Syrian parties, mandated by UN Security Council Resolution 2254, remains the forum for reaching a lasting political settlement to end the conflict in Syria.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding if any they provide to the White Helmets in Syria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK has been supporting Syria Civil Defence (also known as the White Helmets) since 2013. As of 31 March 2018, the total sum of funding that the British Government has provided to the White Helmets is over £35 million.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to work with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and other partners to ensure that Syria is free of chemical weapons.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK remains committed to working with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and other partners to ensure that use of chemical weapons in Syria stops, and that the Syrian chemical weapons programme is fully dismantled. In the financial year 2017/ 2018, the UK contributed £110,000 to the OPCW's Trust Fund for Syria Missions, to support its teams analysing Syria's chemical weapons declaration and investigating ongoing use of chemical weapons in Syria. We have also helped train inspectors in forensic interviewing and negotiating skills, shared our information on the attacks being investigated, and lobbied other states to be similarly supportive. The UK strongly supported the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism from the outset of their work in 2015, and we continue to press for the re-establishment of a similar mechanism.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to ensuring that the United Nations Security Council completes President Putin's 2013 initiative to rid Syria of chemical weapons.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK remains committed to ensuring the removal of all chemical weapons in Syria, but this is complicated by Russia's refusal to hold the Asad regime to account for chemical weapons use. In 2013, Russia committed itself to ensuring that Syria would stop the use of chemical weapons and destroy its chemical weapons stockpile. Yet since then investigations mandated by the UN have found the Asad regime responsible for using chemical weapons in at least four separate attacks. Russia has vetoed UN Security Council resolutions on Syria chemical weapons six times since 2017, including following the chemical attack in Douma. The Syrians have still not provided a comprehensive declaration of their programme, as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2118.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will support an independent inquiry into human rights abuses by all parties in the conflict in Yemen.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK is deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Yemen and takes allegations of violations of international human rights law very seriously. That is why we strongly supported the UN Human Rights Council Resolution on the human rights situation in Yemen in September 2017. It was a single, impactful, consensus resolution which mandates that a group of eminent international and regional experts conduct an independent investigation into the human rights situation in Yemen. We are working to ensure that the resolution is fully implemented.