Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024

Tuesday 15th October 2024 Grand Committee

Considered in Grand Committee

16:40

Moved by

[Lord Collins of Highbury]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024.

Relevant document: Not yet reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Collins of Highbury) (Lab)]

My Lords, this instrument amends the Syria (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. It was laid on 30 July using powers provided by the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. It entered into force on 31 July. For clarity, this instrument was first laid on 24 May under the previous Government. This Government support the aims of the instrument, so we revoked and relaid it to provide additional time, post election, for the required parliamentary scrutiny. There are no amendments to the policy, and the substance of this instrument remains the same.

With the conflict in Syria now in its 14th year, the humanitarian situation remains dire, and a record 16.7 million people are estimated to be in humanitarian need. Nine in 10 people in Syria are living in poverty, and nearly 13 million lack sufficient food. Many more have been forced to flee their homes and are living in settlements and camps.

Our support for the Syrian people is unwavering. The United Kingdom has spent over £4 billion to date, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis, and we continue to provide life-saving support to those in need. It is imperative that aid reaches the most vulnerable and that United Nations agencies, international organisations and NGOs have the support necessary for their work. The United Kingdom has engaged with financial institutions and humanitarian actors to fully understand how they use the humanitarian provisions in our sanctions legislation. Last year the Government issued general licences following the earthquakes.

The United Kingdom has acted to ensure that aid continues to reach those most in need in Syria. These amendments to the regulations will allow trusted organisations to focus on delivering aid, support efficient and effective humanitarian delivery, and provide assurances for these organisations and their service providers. They will ensure that we continue to meet our humanitarian objectives while ensuring that our sanctions regime is robust.

United Kingdom sanctions are designed to encourage the Assad regime to refrain from actions, policies or activities that repress the civilian population in Syria. They also serve to encourage the regime to participate in good faith in negotiations for a political settlement in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, and to bring about a peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria.

The instrument amends the humanitarian exception to the petroleum measures contained in the 2019 regulations, with the aim of improving the delivery of humanitarian aid in Syria. The amendments will expand the eligibility for the humanitarian exception from solely UK-funded persons to all organisations covered by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2664, to the extent that those are captured by UK sanctions. The extension will enable more organisations to benefit from the humanitarian exemption.

The instrument extends the 2019 regulations to ensure that they apply to those involved in the humanitarian delivery chain. This will ensure that the delivery chains of relevant persons as outlined in the regulations will benefit from being able to use the humanitarian exception. That provides assurances to relevant delivery partners on the ground and to financial service providers when approving payments.

The instrument also amends the 2019 regulations to authorise financial service providers of relevant persons to use the humanitarian exception, removing the requirement for those providers to apply for individual licences to facilitate activities authorised by the exception. This change will also provide greater assurances to both humanitarian organisations and their financial providers, reducing delays in payments.

16:45

In addition, the instrument replaces the existing notification requirement for “relevant persons”, using the humanitarian exception for petroleum prohibitions in the 2019 regulations, with a requirement to notify the Treasury annually that they are involved in the provision of humanitarian assistance in Syria. The notification requirement will apply to relevant persons conducting humanitarian assistance activities in Syria, but not to financial service providers, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the British Red Cross or downstream delivery partners.

Finally, the instrument makes two further and more minor amendments. The first is a small amendment to the humanitarian fuel exception and a related exception for petroleum products for diplomatic and consular premises in the 2019 regulations. Those exceptions are amended to refer to “acquiring” fuel, rather than “purchasing” it. The second amends the record-keeping requirements within the 2019 regulations with respect to trade licences, to clarify that the specified information is required “where appropriate”. This will ensure that the correct records are kept for the relevant licences.

To conclude, the UK’s sanctions on Syria continue to send a clear message to the regime and its supporters that we will not stand by while they commit serious human rights abuses. These regulations ensure that the sanctions do not hinder humanitarian aid efforts. We will continue to work closely with the United Nations, like-minded states, humanitarian organisations and the financial sector to ensure that sanctions work in tandem with humanitarian efforts, and that the Assad regime, its allies and supporters bear responsibility for the devastation endured by the Syrian people. I commend these regulations to the Grand Committee.

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

I thank the Minister for highlighting what are, in many respects, the neglected humanitarian needs of Syrians in an ongoing crisis. I believe that this debate will be shorter and I will contribute to that by reducing what I say, but I want to ask the Minister a couple of questions, if I may.

First, I acknowledge that the humanitarian exceptions are necessary in times of conflict and when there are problems, but there are consequential sensitivities, especially when they are operating in militarily controlled areas. Obviously, under international humanitarian law those providing humanitarian aid have access rights, and those should not be impeded, but in many times of ongoing conflict or where there are belligerents who occupy territory, they operate in very complex and often dangerous circumstances. I acknowledge that the previous Government considered that this was justified and that the current Government accept it, but is it necessary to have further monitoring mechanisms on the expansion of these exceptions, when it comes to ensuring that they will not be misused by those who control the territory, or is the Minister satisfied that the current reporting mechanisms are sufficient?

Secondly, when it comes to the extension to “relevant persons”, I note that non-UK-based organisations have been within the scope of UK sanctions. It is interesting to compare that to what we heard in the previous debate. Are the Government able to outline what the category of “relevant persons” would be as regards the delivery of certain services, and are those humanitarian services different from what had previously been provided?

Finally, as the Minister knows, there are many displaced Syrians who require humanitarian assistance. Part of my concern is the many Syrians who are just across the border in Lebanon at the moment, including across the whole stretch of the Bekaa valley and up to the area of Baalbek-Hermel. Is this measure linked to providing humanitarian support to Syrians, who may be displaced outside the country, or does it apply only to the provision of humanitarian assistance within Syria?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My Lords, I, too, thank the Minister for his speech and his words on this matter. As this Committee, and the House, knows, the people of Syria have suffered a great deal since 2011. Over 90% of Syrians live in poverty and in fear of Bashar al-Assad’s brutality, or the threats now posed by Daesh, the Iranian-backed militias and the Wagner Group. It is truly a lamentable state, and in many respects a humanitarian catastrophe, only compounded by the terrible earthquakes in 2023.

It is absolutely right that we continue to sanction the Syrian Government, and we welcome the Minister’s action on this. It is important that Ministers keep sanctions under constant review to ensure that we are not penalising those who deliver much-needed humanitarian aid, and I am sure the Government are doing that.

This instrument was, of course, originally laid by the previous Conservative Government and, therefore, the Minister will be unsurprised to know that we fully support it. As it widens the exemptions for humanitarian groups to access fuel under strict management systems, we hope that it will support those who are working to alleviate some of the terrible suffering of the Syrian people.

On the issue of the sanctions regime, have the Government looked at the proliferation of Syrian Captagon? Captagon is a highly addictive amphetamine, which is now produced in large quantities in Syria and, sadly, distributed worldwide. The MP for Rutland and Stamford in the other place has said that Syria is now effectively

“a narco-state, producing 80% of the world’s Captagon”.—[Official Report, Commons, 9/9/24; col. 626.]

A number of seizures have already cropped up in the UK, and I would be interested to know whether the Government are looking at this for a future sanctions regime or have developed a strategy on this.

I am delighted that this country has always stood up for the people of Syria in their time of need. We have given £4 billion of humanitarian aid to the people of Syria. I hope that the Government will continue to clamp down further on Russia, as we heard in the previous debate, and on the Syrian Government, who are one of Russia’s principal backers. As I said, these sanctions were tabled by the previous Government, and we wholeheartedly support them.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank both noble Lords for their contributions; they certainly have staying power, and I welcome that. I say again that it is important that there is cross-party consensus on these regulations, particularly because of the huge number of human rights abuses.

The noble Lord, Lord Purvis, talked about risk mitigation and the potential abuse of this exemption. The humanitarian exemption authorises a limited set of activities when they are conducted by certain trusted humanitarian organisations with strong risk-management systems. It is not like a blank cheque: systems must be in place to ensure compliance with the exceptions. Other organisations must continue to apply for individual licences. That risk management is absolutely an essential part of the licences. The amendment also contains reporting requirements to assist with monitoring and enforcement. I hope that that gives the noble Lord the assurances he seeks.

I turn to the specific point that the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, raised in relation to Captagon in Syria. We are closely monitoring the regime’s links to this trade. As he said, the regime bears responsibility for, and is profiting from, the production and trading of this narcotic. We are deeply concerned by the growth of the Captagon industry, which, as well as enriching the regime, is fuelling regional instability and generating vast revenues for criminal gangs and armed groups in Syria and across the region. The United Kingdom is sharpening global awareness of the risks posed by Captagon. In March 2024, the UK hosted an event with Jordan that brought together the international community, alongside expert researchers, to discuss the impact of this trade on the region. In March 2023, in co-ordination with the United States, the UK imposed sanctions on 11 individuals who facilitate the Captagon industry in Syria, including politicians and businesspeople alike.

The other point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, was in relation to the displacement of refugees into Syria from Lebanon. Was that what the noble Lord asked about?

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

I am sorry, Minister, I may not have been too clear. It was the displacement of Syrians into Lebanon.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

Okay. The simple fact is that the movement of refugees across those borders is a consequence of conflict. We are trying to work closely with the UN and other partners to assess need and provide on-the-ground assistance where possible. How we get assistance in is key. If the noble Lord requires further information, I am certainly happy to discuss it with him outside the Room.

I therefore thank the two noble Lords for their contributions. As I have said throughout this debate, we remain firmly committed to ensuring that the United Kingdom’s sanctions work in tandem with humanitarian efforts, and that the Assad regime, its allies and supporters bear responsibility for the dire plight of the Syrian people. I hope and trust the Grand Committee will support the regulations.

Motion agreed.