Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps is he taking to ensure continued accountability for people responsible for crimes committed during Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The Foreign Secretary has raised the need for accountability directly with Syrian interim Foreign Minister Shaibani. We continue to support partners who are playing a pivotal role in developing a credible evidence base to record atrocities committed by the former regime and others. This financial year, we have committed £1.15 million to accountability and documentation-related programmes. Following the collapse of the Assad regime, we announced a further £240,000 in funding to help secure and preserve vital evidence.