Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, what estimate she has made of the number of civilian deaths due to blocked medical evacuations.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK condemns the blockage of medical evacuations from hard to reach and besieged areas inside Syria, which has led to unnecessary death and suffering. In March 2016, for example, three children and a young man in Madaya and al-Wa’er died after having their evacuations rejected by the parties restricting access to these towns. Access to healthcare and medical treatment is a fundamental human right protected under international law.

Some progress is being made. For example, we are pleased by UN reports that nearly 500 people were evacuated for medical reasons from besieged areas on 20 April.

However, more needs to be done to provide for all those in need in Syria. The UK is pressing for an end to the removal of medical equipment from convoys by the regime, the evacuation of critical medical cases and regular access to healthcare for besieged populations. We will continue to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to draw attention to the atrocities being carried out in Syria and press for urgent action, while maintaining the pressure for a political settlement to bring the suffering of the Syrian people to an end.