Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to ensure the protection of the Kurdish population in (a) Syria and (b) Northern Iraq.

​The UK is a leading member of the Global Coalition against Daesh which has worked with partner forces in both Iraq and Syria to fight against Daesh and protect the local population, including Kurdish communities, in the areas concerned. We have consistently called for protection of minorities, including Kurds, in both Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, that has included through our engagement with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG); I held productive discussions with the President-elect, Prime Minister-elect and Minister of Interior and Peshmerga Affairs of the KRG during my visit to Erbil on 25 January. With respect to Syria, this has included through resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council and support for a UN-facilitated political process as well as our diplomatic engagement with allies and regional partners.