Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterparts on war crimes allegedly carried out by Russia and Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We discuss the situation in Syria regularly with international counterparts, and these discussions often cover allegations of atrocities being committed in Syria. These were raised most recently in the UN Security Council on Saturday 8 October, when Russia vetoed the proposed UNSC resolution calling for an end to the bombardment of Aleppo. As the Foreign Secretary my right hon. Friend the member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) has said, including in the House of Commons on 11 October, deliberate targeting of civilians or humanitarian personnel would be a war crime. The attack on a UN aid convoy near Aleppo on 19 September was a clear violation of the most basic of humanitarian principles. Russia appears to be partnering with the Syrian regime in the attacks on Aleppo which are causing large numbers of civilian casualties. It is crucial that these incidents are properly investigated.