Syria: Protection of Civilians in Afrin

Lord Collins of Highbury Excerpts

Tuesday 13th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement.

As we have seen over the weekend, the Kurdish community across the United Kingdom is watching, and it needs to be reassured that the United Kingdom is doing everything it can to try to alleviate the terrible humanitarian crisis that is developing. Time and again, those fighting in Syria are consistently failing to take precautions that protect civilians. As the Secretary-General of the United Nations said to the Security Council on 12 March:

“Syria is bleeding inside and out. There should be only one agenda for all of us: to end the suffering of the Syrian people and find a political solution to the conflict”.


Alistair Burt, the Minister of State for the Middle East, said the best opportunity for peace and security is,

“to support the Geneva process … and to work as hard as we are diplomatically to get the parties to find a better answer to the conflict”.—[Official Report, Commons, 12/3/18; col. 677.]

What is the Government’s latest assessment of the Geneva process? Does the Minister believe that there will be a political solution and that Daesh will be defeated when Turkey sees its priority as stopping the Kurds rather than getting a political solution? The Statement says that the protection of civilians must be balanced with,

“Turkey’s legitimate interest in the security of its borders”.

We must be clear that the incursion is neither legitimate nor justified and has no basis in international law. According to reports—and as the Minister himself said—Turkish forces are right now advancing on Afrin, and there are real concerns that when they enter there will be widespread atrocities as they seek to root out those they call terrorists.

The Government said that although we cannot get close to Afrin, the UK is doing its best to make sure that United Nations agencies and others active in the area have supplies available if people are able to leave. Will the Minister update us on the efforts to work with our allies, especially the EU, to enable people to leave? In addition, can we do more than simply urge all parties to respect the law of distinction between civilian and military targets? Surely one way is to make it clear that no one can act with impunity in breach of international humanitarian law. Human rights monitors can act as one of the greatest deterrents against civilian atrocities and can ensure that perpetrators of abuses are held to account.

Alistair Burt said that the Government intend to hold the Turkish Government to account for the representations they have made about preventing civilian casualties. What specific steps will the Government take to do that—that is, just how do we hold them to account? The Government say Afrin is an area where the UK is not present on the ground, from where it is difficult to get information out, and where UN workers are not able to operate. Therefore, what steps are the Government taking to achieve a more unified multilateral approach with our EU partners in order to urge Turkey to allow access for humanitarian aid and independent monitors? Finally, what steps are the Government taking to quickly restore full humanitarian access to Afrin so that the UK and other partners can get aid in and ultimately save lives?

[Baroness Sheehan (LD)]

My Lords, I too thank the Minister for repeating the Statement. The UN Security Council Resolution 2401, announced on 24 February, was jointly negotiated with the Russians and was greeted with relief as it allowed for a ceasefire in order to deploy humanitarian aid convoys to all besieged areas, including eastern Ghouta. However, it was apparent straightaway that the Syrian regime’s concession of a five-hour ceasefire window was a mockery of any so-called humanitarian gesture, as it allowed scant time for supplies to be loaded on to lorries, the necessary permissions to be sought and put into place, and for the aid to be delivered where it was needed. On top of that, medical supplies were removed from lorries, leaving civilians without necessary and essential supplies. This has been the appalling situation since 25 February. Finally, yesterday, the US permanent representative to the UN, Nikki Haley, made a statement condemning the action of the regime, adding that the US could be forced to act unilaterally. I am puzzled as to the timing of today’s Statement to both Houses. Is it in response to the US’s statement yesterday, and if so, do the Government share the view that the ceasefire was a failure, and does it imply our acquiescence in the US’s sabre-rattling? Can the Minister at the very least articulate the Government’s view of Nikki Haley’s threat to take action?

We are all shocked by the situation in Afrin. Reports of the shelling of villages and residential areas are deeply troubling. Violence in the Afrin region escalated after the Turkish Government announced on 20 January the start of a military offensive codenamed “Olive Branch”, which in my view is a macabre choice of name. Between 22 January and 21 February the Kurdish Red Crescent reported 93 civilians killed, including 25 children, in attacks by the Turkish military. A further 313 civilians were wounded, including 51 children. Meanwhile, Kurdish YPG forces shelling in Azaz have allegedly killed four people.

The use of artillery and other imprecise explosive weapons in civilian areas is prohibited by international humanitarian law and all parties should cease such attacks immediately. I hope that the Government have conveyed that message to Turkey in the strongest possible terms. The Kurds have been key allies in our fight against Daesh and I think that all noble Lords will be appalled by the attacks that they are now facing. The Minister will be aware of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, in 2015, which states that the only sustainable solution to the current crisis in Syria is through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. Does the Minister therefore agree that such a process must involve Kurds in Syria? Finally, the Kurdish region has already accepted around 2 million refugees and internally displaced people. What assessment have Her Majesty’s Government made of the impact that the Turkish military operation will have on this group?