Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to relieve sanctions on Syria in order to improve the humanitarian situation in that country.

The UK continues to pursue sanctions as a policy tool to hold the Syrian regime to account. UK sanctions send a clear message to the regime and its supporters that we will not stand by whilst the regime continues to commit serious human rights abuses.

Our Syria sanctions carefully target specific individuals, entities and sectors. The UK and European partners take all possible steps to mitigate against the wider impact of sanctions on Syrian civilians. We do not sanction medicine, medical equipment and medical assistance. Items required to fight the COVID-19 pandemic are not subject to direct restrictions on export, supply, financing or use in Syria. Humanitarian exemptions apply in relation to other equipment required by the Syrian pharmaceutical industry.