Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made as to whether the execution of Hevrin Khalaf, the secretary-general of the Future Syria Party, constitutes a war crime.

We are deeply concerned by reports of the extrajudicial killing of Hevrin Khalaf, the Secretary General of the Future Syria Party, on 12 October. The UK strongly supports efforts to pursue accountability in Syria. It is the policy of the British Government, that any judgment as to whether war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide have occurred is a matter for judicial decision after consideration of all the available evidence, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. To this end, we are providing diplomatic and financial support to the UN Impartial Independent Investigative Mechanism to gather evidence and prepare legal cases

We expect all sides to respect their obligations towards civilians under the international humanitarian law.