Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree with Medecins Sans Frontières, which says that the Syrian people are now presented with the absurd situation of chemical weapons inspectors freely driving through areas of desperate need while ambulances, food and drug supplies are being blocked? Is it not the case that two weeks after the Security Council agreement on access for humanitarian aid, nothing has actually changed?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness highlights a key point. It is obviously encouraging that the chemical weapons inspectors have been able to get into the areas they wished to visit, but it has also been quite striking that humanitarian aid has not necessarily been able to get into those same places. That is one of the reasons why the international community is putting particular stress on trying to encourage the Syrian Government to grant those rights of passage for humanitarian reasons.