The All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) was pleased to attend this event hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Friends of Syria and chaired by Jo Cox MP.

The first speaker, Elizabeth Quintana, Senior Research Fellow, Air Power and Technology and Director of Military Sciences at Royal United Services Institute, emphasised that real progress in Syria can only be made once the political deadlock is broken. However, she noted that the window for political agreement is now closing, as the situation on the ground is changing rapidly. She advised Parliamentarians that the UK Government must now carefully consider how any action taken in Syria will be viewed by Russia and that the UK should consider giving more support to the Iraqi Government.

The second speaker, Kristyan Benedict, Campaigns Manager, Crisis Response and Tactical Campaigns at Amnesty International UK, advised Parliamentarians that humanitarian protection of civilians must be at the forefront of UK policy in Syria, and must be prioritised over state sovereignty. He also argued that greater efforts are needed to start an accountability process, to end the culture of impunity that exists for all parties to the conflict. Use of mechanisms including the International Criminal Court, other ad hoc courts and UN Committee of Inquiry should be further explored. (KB)

The PHRG will continue to monitor the Syrian crisis closely, particularly regarding protection of civilians and progress towards accountability. We will raise our concerns through the relevant interlocutors where possible.