Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian needs of the civilians living in the rebel-held areas of Aleppo, and of reports that those civilians are facing starvation.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK is at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis. We have pledged over £2.3 billion to date, our largest ever response to a humanitarian crisis.
The Syrian regime and Kurdish forces have cut the main access route into opposition-held eastern Aleppo City. The UN reports that up to 300,000 people are trapped there, with humanitarian assistance unable to get in. The UN and humanitarian partners have prepositioned some food supplies and rationing of supplies has begun. Further life-saving aid is needed urgently. In other areas of Syria prolonged denial of humanitarian access has led to cases of acute malnutrition and, in some cases, starvation.
There is no excuse for not allowing humanitarian supplies into east Aleppo City and doing so is a violation of International Humanitarian Law. The Syrian Regime approved the UN’s request to deliver humanitarian supplies to East Aleppo City as part of its July humanitarian convoy plan. We call on the Regime to live up to this commitment. We are working with the UN and other humanitarian partners to find ways to alleviate the situation.
