Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 18 June (HL5354) which outlined potential delays to “the provision of goods to Syria's pharmaceutical industry”, what steps they are taking to mitigate (1) any damage to that country’s ability to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) any impact of sanctions on Syrian civilians.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working closely with the UN and our humanitarian partners to respond to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Syria and sustain life-saving services there. On 30 June, the International Development Secretary announced a UK pledge of at least £300 million for the Syria crisis in 2020. The funding will help stop the spread of the virus in Syria by supporting health workers with training, medical supplies and sanitation.
As previously stated in my Written Answer (HL5354), medical equipment and medicines required to fight the COVID-19 pandemic are not subject to direct restrictions on export, supply, financing or use in Syria.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of increased economic sanctions by the US Administration on the Syrian Government on achieving the reauthorisation of humanitarian and medical aid border crossings under UN Security Council Resolution 2504, due for renewal by 10 July 2020.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We welcome US statements that these new sanctions are targeted and humanitarian exemptions continue to apply. As such, we do not believe that they should impact current negotiations regarding UN Security Council Resolution 2504. The renewal is a matter for the UN Security Council and the UK continues to be vocal on the need for cross-border aid into both north-west and north-east Syria.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of sanctions on Syria on the pharmaceutical industry in that country and any subsequent impact on that country’s ability to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and European partners regularly review sanctions, including in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have taken significant steps to mitigate against the wider impact of sanctions on Syrian civilians. The EU does not sanction medicine, medical equipment and medical assistance. As such, medical equipment, including oxygen, respirators (except powered respirators), personal protective equipment and ventilators as well as medicines and other medical items required to fight the COVID-19 pandemic are not subject to direct restrictions on export, supply, financing or use in Syria. Humanitarian exemptions apply in relation to other equipment required by the Syrian pharmaceutical industry. We assess that applying for a licence or authorisation may slightly delay the provision of goods to Syria's pharmaceutical industry, as may over-compliance by certain operators' unwillingness to engage in transactions related to Syria, for fear of accidentally violating the sanctions. But the sanctions do not prevent the delivery of items needed to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 2 June (HL4567), whether EU or UK restrictions prohibit the delivery of supplies required to deal with COVID-19 through (1) the ports of Latakia and Tartous, and (2) Damascus Airport, in Syria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
EU sanctions do not prohibit medical supplies from being delivered into Syria regardless of the means of transport, including through Latakia, Tartous or Damascus. The EU Syria sanctions do not prohibit the supply, export, transfer or finance of food, medicines, medical equipment, disinfectants and other medical products required to deal with COVID-19 when used by international humanitarian organisations to provide humanitarian assistance. There are also humanitarian exemptions that apply in relation to certain dual-use goods. EU sanctions will continue to apply in the UK during the Transition Period.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 13 May (HL Deb, col 681), what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the continuing prohibition on sales of dual use goods such as disinfectants and nitrous oxide for anaesthetics to the Syrian Ministry of Health with the exemption of medical supplies used for humanitarian purposes from sanctions on that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
EU Syria sanctions do not prohibit the sale, supply, transfer, export or finance of disinfectants, nitrous oxide and other goods required to combat Covid-19. Certain goods and their components can be used for internal repression, including through chemical attacks, and are therefore subject to prohibitions but even in those cases, humanitarian exemptions enable them to be sold or exported where the end user has demonstrated that the goods will be used to deliver humanitarian relief and will not be transferred to a designated person or entity. The Syrian Ministry of Health is not designated in the EU Syria sanctions. Applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with UK legislation and the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. On 12 May, the European Commission issued guidance on the humanitarian exemptions to the Syria sanctions regulations to support humanitarian organisations.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of international sanctions on the rise in food prices in Syria over one year.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We assess that the rise in food prices in Syria over the past year is primarily a result of the deteriorating economic situation in neighbouring Lebanon, whose economy is intrinsically linked to Syria's; the corresponding loss in the value of the Syrian pound; damage to agricultural areas and productivity due to war and fires in summer 2019; and latterly border closures related to COVID-19. We do not assess international sanctions to be a major factor: EU sanctions are carefully targeted on specific sectors and individuals, in order to minimise their impact on ordinary Syrians, and do not apply to the food sector. More generally, the ongoing conflict combined with mismanagement and corruption by the Assad regime explain most of the problems of the Syrian economy.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on further sanctions against Russia as a result of that country's actions in Idlib, Syria.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
Building on new Syria sanctions announced on 17 February, we have been working with European and other partners to increase international pressure to ensure that the brutal offensive conducted by Russia and the Syrian regime force in Idlib ends and a lasting ceasefire is established.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of trade sanctions on Syria.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We regularly review the effectiveness of all sanctions on Syria and consider them an important lever to press the regime to engage seriously in the UN-led peace process. While most EU Syria sanctions are on individuals associated with the Assad regime, the sanctions include restrictions on trade to or for the benefit of the Syrian regime in certain sectors, including (a) goods and technology related to chemical and biological weapons; (b) goods and technology that may be used to repress the civilian population of Syria; (c) interception and monitoring services; (d) military goods and technology; and (e) crude oil and petroleum products from Syria.The UK continues to work closely with European partners to sanction those profiting from the devastating Syrian war while minimising the impact of sanctions on ordinary Syrians. We look to continue implementing the sanctions after December 2020.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to undertake, and report on, an investigation into the government of Russia's alleged (1) use of poisoning and assassination, (2) media manipulation, (3) abuse of Interpol procedures, and (4) efforts to undermine international law and institutions in ways that are harmful to UK security.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to challenge Russia's malign activity and abuse of the international rules-based system and remain at the forefront of those opposing that abuse.
In response to the attack in Salisbury, together with our allies, we coordinated the largest ever collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers, fundamentally degrading Russian intelligence capability for years to come. We also challenge Russia's actions in Ukraine, in Syria, the Western Balkans and in cyber space. The United Kingdom is committed to playing a leading role in continuing sanctions against Russia. Sanctions are one of a range of measures we have taken, in concert with others, to defend our security and enhance our capabilities against Russia's malign activity.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle Russian propaganda.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
We continue to challenge Russia's malign activity and abuse of the international rules-based system and remain at the forefront of those opposing that abuse.
In response to the attack in Salisbury, together with our allies, we coordinated the largest ever collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers, fundamentally degrading Russian intelligence capability for years to come. We also challenge Russia's actions in Ukraine, in Syria, the Western Balkans and in cyber space. The United Kingdom is committed to playing a leading role in continuing sanctions against Russia. Sanctions are one of a range of measures we have taken, in concert with others, to defend our security and enhance our capabilities against Russia's malign activity.