Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his foreign counterparts on preventing the sale of Daesh-controlled oil; and what steps are being taken to prevent such sales.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK has led efforts at the UN to make it illegal for any state, company or individual to trade in oil or oil products with Daesh, including co-sponsoring UN Security Council Resolution 2199 in February 2015. This resolution requires all states to prevent the transfer of economic resources to Daesh. We work closely and continually with allies, particularly in the region, to ensure Resolution 2199 is implemented.

In addition to UN measures, we have worked to ensure that individuals involved in brokering oil deals between Daesh and the Assad regime have been sanctioned by the EU.

We have held bilateral and multilateral discussions, including within the Global Coalition’s Counter ISIL Finance Group on this issue. The UK is expanding its work to help regional partners enforce sanctions and stop smuggling. We are also working with the private sector to ensure it takes seriously its responsibilities to ensure Daesh cannot access the spare parts and fuel additives it needs for its oil industry to function.