Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that organisations providing humanitarian relief in (a) Madaya, (b) Daraya and (c) Aleppo have unimpeded access to the children in those areas.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK continues to call for full and sustained cease fire and humanitarian access to all besieged and hard-to-reach areas across Syria.

The town of Madaya was reached on 25 September by a UN interagency convoy which delivered a range of desperately needed aid. This was the first convoy to reach Madaya since 30 April.

The town of Daraya is now in regime hands and much of the population has been evacuated. The Assad Regime and its backers must ensure the protection of all of Daraya’s inhabitants and that opposition fighters are treated in accordance with international humanitarian law.

The situation in Aleppo is atrocious as a result of increased bombardment by the regime and its backers in recent weeks, as well as a block on all humanitarian supplies. Fresh water supplies have also been cut off. The UK is working urgently with our international partners to pressure the regime and its backers to end the siege of Aleppo.