Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the government of Syria on the importance of protecting the Alawite community.

We welcome the Syrian Government's reassurances to the Syrian population and international community that they will protect all civilians in Syria, and their establishment of a fact-finding committee to investigate and prosecute individuals who committed crimes during the violence in early March. I discussed these points in my meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on 17 March. We will continue to monitor the treatment of all civilians in Syria, and this issue will continue to be an important aspect of our engagement with the Syrian Government and with regional and international partners.