Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the United States’ designation of Fawaz Al-Akhras for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Bashar Al-Assad.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's priority is to work closely with our allies, including the US, to prevent instability in Syria, ensure civilians are protected and provide humanitarian assistance to those who need it, while shaping an inclusive and peaceful transfer of power following the fall of Assad's brutal regime. The FCDO keeps all sanctions listings and evidence under close review.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will designate Fawaz Al-Akhras for providing support to the Bashar Al-Assad regime.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO keeps all sanctions listings and evidence under close review. It is not appropriate to speculate on potential future designations, as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to send justice and accountability experts to Syria to collect evidence of (a) war crimes and (b) crimes against humanity by the regime led by Bashar Al-Assad.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are currently considering options for building on our ongoing accountability work in Syria. In the meantime, we will continue to support partners who are playing a pivotal role in developing a credible evidence base to record atrocities committed by the former regime and others. This year alone, we have committed £1.15 million to accountability and documentation related programmes. In addition, we will continue to work with our international partners and civil society to advocate for and support mechanisms such as the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) and Independent Institution for Missing Persons (IIMP) to ensure that accountability is a core part of the transitional process.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the (a) identification and (b) destruction of Captagon production facilities in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned by the growth of the Captagon industry, which as well as enriching the former Assad regime is fuelling regional instability and generating vast revenues for criminal gangs and armed groups in Syria and across the region. We are working with international partners, including partners in the region, to raise awareness of the risks posed by Captagon. The UK has imposed sanctions on 11 individuals involved in facilitating the Captagon industry in Syria.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) identify and (b) destroy Captagon (i) production and (ii) distribution facilities in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned by the growth of the Captagon industry, which as well as enriching the former Assad regime, is fuelling regional instability and generating vast revenues for criminal gangs and armed groups in Syria and across the region. We are working with international partners, including partners in the region, to raise awareness of the risks posed by Captagon. The UK has imposed sanctions on 11 individuals involved in facilitating the Captagon industry in Syria.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK is participating in international action to (a) identify and (b) destroy chemical weapon (i) production sites and (ii) depots in Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The brutal history of chemical weapons use in Syria must never be repeated. We have been closely monitoring developments as they unfold and engaging with partners in the region and with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). We welcome Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's (HTS) statement that it will protect chemical weapons sites and will not use chemical weapons under any circumstances. Syria must now take the next step, which is to comply with the obligations set out under UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and the Chemical Weapons Convention and engage with the OPCW to declare fully its chemical weapons programme so that it can finally, and verifiably, be completely destroyed.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will increase the number of British military personnel deployed to KFOR following the attack on the Iber Lepenci water canal on 28 November 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The size and shape of NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission is an operational matter for NATO. The UK would consider any request from NATO, through its established process and procedure, for an increase in the number of military personnel deployed to Kosovo. We remain a key part of KFOR - including with our Strategic Reserve, which deployed for three months at less than five days' notice after the attack at Banjska in the north of Kosovo in September 2023.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the attack on the Iber Lepenci water canal in Kosovo on 28 November 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the 29 November attack on critical infrastructure in northern Kosovo, our immediate priorities are to demonstrate our support and solidarity with Kosovo; to work with Kosovo and international partners to ensure a credible, evidence-based investigation is conducted; and to manage down risks of escalation. I spoke to Kosovo's Prime Minister Kurti and Serbia's Foreign Minister Djuric on 1 December and urged against rhetoric that increases tensions.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has discussed the attack on the Iber Lepenci water canal in Kosovo with the Foreign Ministers of (a) the EU, (b) the USA, (c) France, (d) Italy and (e) Germany.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I discussed the attack on critical infrastructure in northern Kosovo on 3 December with French Minister for European Affairs. I also discussed the situation with fellow NATO members at the NATO Foreign Ministerial Meeting on 3 December. On the same day, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy, Lord Peach, discussed the attack with EU Special Representative Lajcak. This followed the immediate engagement of our Ambassadors in Pristina and Belgrade with their EU, French, Italian, US and German counterparts, with whom we are working to encourage a full and evidence-based investigation to establish the facts of the attack, and to urge against rhetoric that heightens tensions. I will continue to engage with counterparts.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department last discussed the Banjska attack with the Serbian Government.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to engage at senior levels with the Serbian government to urge Serbia to bring to account the perpetrators of the September 2023 Banjska attack and the May 2023 attack on Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops. Most recently, I underlined the importance of accountability for these attacks in my conversation with Serbian Foreign Minister Djuric on 1 December. I also made this point to Foreign Minister Djuric in the margins of the Berlin Process Foreign Ministers' meeting in October.