Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether Russian airstrikes in Syria have breached international humanitarian law.

Mr Philip Hammond

We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Syria. The UK supports the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which is mandated by the Human Rights Council to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law including those that may constitute crimes against humanity in Syria with a view to ensuring perpetrators are held to account. In addition, the UK co-sponsored a UN Security Council resolution to refer all those who are alleged to be responsible for war-crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, regardless of affiliation, to the International Criminal Court. Russia and China chose to veto this resolution.