Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Syrian counterpart on ensuring a (a) comprehensive and (b) unbiased transitional process.

I travelled to Damascus on 27 August, and raised the importance of accountability and transitional justice for a sustainable political transition, and offered UK support to Foreign Minister Al-Shaibani and Justice Minister Al-Waisi. During the Foreign Secretary's meeting with President al Sharaa in Damascus in July, he also raised this. We support the Syrian Government in establishing Syrian-led processes, such as the National Commissions on Transitional Justice and Missing Persons, and have urged them to engage collaboratively with civil society and the UN to ensure these are inclusive, comprehensive and transparent.