Syria Crisis: UK Response

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

My hon. Friend will be aware that there is already a substantial number of refugees in Turkey— 2 million in total. The plan is really about helping Turkey to continue to provide the food, water, shelter, education and, more latterly, jobs programmes that enable refugees to cope with the circumstances they find themselves in.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

If Syria is to have a stable and peaceful future, women and girls will have a part to play in it. Will the Secretary of State say why there was no mention of the role of women in the Syrian stabilisation paper that was published last week?

[Justine Greening]

I fully agree with the hon. Lady that women have a key role to play not only in the rebuilding of Syria in time, but in the peace talks that need to happen in advance. She will know that, alongside all the work we have done to help children affected by this crisis, we have focused on women as well. We know that in humanitarian emergencies, women and girls—adolescent girls, in particular—are often the most vulnerable people, so we have worked very hard to make sure that the risks they face are managed. I would be happy to write to her about some of our plans to make sure that women stay at the centre of our thoughts in the international response to the Syria crisis.