Order. Statement, the secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs. Money rocks money rocks. Secretary william hayes. Mr. Speaker, with permission ill make a statement on the crisis in syria. The time has come to announce to the house necessary developments in our policy and our readiness to develop it further if the bloodshed continues. Two years after it gans began, 10,000 people have died since i last updated the house in early january. That means more people have died in the first two months of this year than in the whole of the first year of the conflict. The total estimated death toll is now over 70,000 people. The regime has used scud Ballistic Missiles against civilian areas and theres evidence of grave Human Rights Violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity including massacres, torture, summary executions and a systematic policy of rape and Sexual Violence by the Regime Forces and its militia. A year ago one Million People needed humanitarian aid inside syria. That figure is now up to four Million People out of a total population of 21 million. 40,000 people are fleeing syria each week, threequarters of them women and children. The number of refugees have increased thirtyfold over the last ten months, and today the sad milestone of one million refugees has been reached. The population of lebanon which i visited two weeks ago has risen by 10 from the influx of destitute people. This is a desperate situation of increasingly extreme humanitarian suffering. There is no sign that the assad regime currently intends to enter into a genuine political process. They appear to believe they can defeat their opponents militarily, and they count on being shielded by some countries at the United NationsSecurity Council. It will be necessary to turn each of these calculations on its head if the conflict is to come to a peaceful end. Securing a diplomatic breakthrough remains, of course, our objective. Last week i discussed it with john kerry here in london and other close partners with the friends of the Syrian People in rome. In rome i also met the Syrian National coalitions president and welcomed his brave announcement that the National Coalition is open to direct talks with members of the assad regime. We continue our efforts to develop Common Ground with russia. I will have talked with the Russian Foreign minister later this afternoon and next week also here in london. And at the end of january, the u. N. And arab League Special representative for syria set out a credible plan for the establishment of a Transitional Authority in syria. Were working with allies to achieve, if at all possible, Security Council backing for a transition process, and im meeting mr. Bra brahimi again ao this afternoon. The fact is diplomacy is taking far too long, and the prospect of an mealed breakthrough is an immediate breakthrough is slim. Lance armstronger number of refugees and confrontation. The International Community cannot stand still in the face of this reality. Our policy has to move towards more active efforts to prevent the loss of life in syria, and this means stepping up our support to the opposition and thereby increasing the pressure on the regime to accept a political solution. What we face is not a choice between diplomacy on the one hand and practical assistance on the other. Helping the opposition is crucial to bringing about a political transition and saving lives, and both must be pursued together. We will always be careful in how we develop our policy, but our readiness to develop it further should be unmistakeable, particularly for the as 15d regime assad regime. What happens in syria is vital to our National Interests for three reasons. The first is the growth of extremism. The vast majority of people opposing the regime are ordinary people trying to defend their commitments and gain freedom for their country, but syria today has become the top destination for jihadists anywhere in the world, and were already seeing a rise in sectarian violence and attacks using car bombs. We cannot allow syria to become another breeding ground for terrorists who pose a threat to our National Security. Second, the crisis is undermining the peace of the region. There have been reports of clashes on the iraqi border and in lebanon. We are increasingly concerned about the regimes readiness to use chemical weapons. We have warned the assad regime that the use of chemical weapons would lead to a serious response from the International Community. Those who order the use and who use chemical weapons will be held to account. Theres also credible information that iran is providing considerable military support to the regime true its revolutionary guard corps including personnel, weapons and direct financial assistance. Third, we and our allies must always be prepared to respond to situations of extreme humanitarian distress. Our Foreign Policy is inseparable from supporting International Law. We must assist the genuine, moderate and Democratic Forces in syria who are in dire need of help and who feel abandoned by the International Community. The longer this conflict goes on, the more human suffering, persecution of minorities, radicalization and sectarian conflict there will be. Despite these three compelling arguments, there will still be those who say britain should have nothing to do with syria. But we cannot look the other way while human rights are flouted, and it would be height of irresponsibility to ignore potential threat to our own security. So i want to explain to the house today the next step in increasing our support to the Syrian People, and i emphasize there may well have to be further steps. We have contributed nearly 140 Million Pounds in humanitarian aid so far. This is funding foot, clean drinking water, medical stabs, blankets and shelter for many tens of thousands of people. Were supporting the Syrian National coalitions own efforts to deliver aid inside syria, and we will seek new ways to expand access for aid across the country while preparing to help a future government deal with the aftermath of the conflict. Weve also committed a total of 9. 4 Million Pounds so far in nonlethal support to the syrian op suggestion, Civil Society and human rights defenders. Weve trained more than 300 syrian journalists and activists, and were providing satellite communication devices to document human rights violences and abuses. I informed the house in january that we would seek to amend the European Union sanctions on syria to open up the possibility of further assistance if the situation deteriorated. On thursday we finalized with our European Partners a specific exemption to the e. U. Sanctions to permit the provision of nonlethal military equipment and all forms of Technical Assistance to the Syrian National coalition where it is spended for the approximate of civilians intended for the protection of civilians. This is important no our ability to help in our ability to help save lives. It can include advice and training on how to maintain security in areas no longer controlled by the regime, on coordination between civilian and military councils, on how to protect civilians and minimize the risks to them and how to maintain security during a transition. We will now provide such assistance, advice and training. We intend to respond to the oppositions request to provide equipment for search and rescue operations and incinerators and collection kits to prevent the spread of disease. We will help local councils to repair electricity and Water Supplies to homes, and we will also respond to the oppositions request for further Water Purification kits and equipment to help civilian political leaders operate and communicate. We will also now provide new types of nonlethal equipment for the protection of civilians going beyond what we have given before. In conjunction with the National Coalition, we are identifying the protective equipment which will be of most assistance to them and likely to save most lives. I will keep the house updated, but it will certainly include, for instance, armored fourwheel drive vehicles to help opposition figures move around more freely as well as personal Protection Equipment including body armor. We will be able to provide testing equipment to the opposition to enable evidence gathering in the horrific event of chemical weapons use, and we will also Fund Training to help armed groups understand their responsibilities and obligations under International Law and International Human rights standards. Any Human Rights Violations or abuses are unacceptable on all sides. Weve allocated nearly three Million Pounds in something this month to support this work and an additional ten Million Pounds thereafter comprising 20 million in nonlethal equipment and practical support to the syrian op is decision and civilian opposition and civilian society. And we hope other countries will offer similar assistance. The cabinet is in no doubt that this is a necessary, proportionate and lawful response to a situation of extreme humanitarian suffering, and though there is no practicable alternative. All our systems will be carefully calibrated and monitored as well as legal and will be aimed at alleviating the human catastrophe and supporting moderate groups. The process in this way was difficult, and the decision came down to the wire. We persisted with it because we believe it is preferable to have a united e. U. Approach. In our view if a solution is not found and the conflict continues, we and the rest of the European Union will have to be ready to move further, and we should not rule out any option for saving lives. In case further necessary amendments to the sanctions regime prove impossible to agree, we stand ready to take any domestic measures necessary to insure that core sanctions on syria remain effective. This is a situation in syria where extreme humanitarian distress and growing dangers to International Peace and security must weigh increasingly heavy in the balance against other risks. With this crisis now becoming one of major dimensions with any standard with millions of people on the move and tens of of thousands dead, tens of thousands more in daily danger of losing their lives, the worlds most volatile region and growing tension and political deadlock endured for two years, our policy cannot be static, nor our position indifferent. The situation of growing gravity requires a steadily more active approach. Learning the lessons of previous conflicts and always emphasizing the need for a political and diplomatic result of the crisis but also being prepared to use increased pressure to try to bring this about. We will continue to keep the house properly informed as we press for an end to the conflict, provide lifesaving assistance and work to insure that syria has the political transition which people deserve. [inaudible] alexander. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Can i thank the foreign secretary for his statement and, indeed [inaudible] this month marks the second anniversary of the start of this brutal on flick. Two years on, as the foreign secretary has rightly pointed out, the death toll is now estimated at some 07,000 and is rising 70,000 and is rising by the day. Only today the United Nations announced that the number of civilian refugees has now reached one million. Half of these refugees are children. More than 400,000 since the first of january, 2013, alone. And more than 7,000 are reported to be fleeing every day. The United Nations today declared that syria is spiraling towards fullscale disaster. So, mr. Speaker, as the number of casualties rise, frustrations too have been growing, and this frustration has understandably led to renewed calls to the International Community to do more. The primary responsibility for this crisis rests with assad and his regime. But, mr. Speaker, does the foreign secretary accept that the deteriorating situation in syria also represents an abject failure on behalf of the International Community and they share a collective responsibility for that . It is right that efforts must now intensify, but the key issue is the breadth of these efforts, how these efforts are channeled and how likely they are to deliver results . First, mr. Speaker, on International Diplomatic efforts, the stalemate at the United NationsSecurity Council is more than just frustrating, it is deplorable. The case must be made to russia and china that supporting or aiding assad not only harms syria, but harms their own interests and, indeed, standing within the wider region. The can the foreign secretary or set out what recommendations he will make in london next week specifically on the prospects and the changes in the Security Council . Separately on sanctions, the issue at present is not necessarily about new sanctions, but effective enforcement of existing sanctions. Given his recent visit, does the foreign secretary agree with me that more must be done to insure that countries fully comply with the existing sanctions to which they have already signed up . Third, on the issue of international accountability, the responsibility for the crisis as i made clear primarily rests with the assad regime, and the perpetrators must ultimately be held to account. Does the foreign secretary agree that efforts to publish the name of syrian officers ordering the ongoing atrocities are vital as they could serve as a clear signal of spent that they will face of intent that they will face justice for their crimes and, of course, that includes the use of chemical weapons. Fourth, on the issue of peace talks, the leader of the Syrian National coalition, last month reportedly offered to engage in talks on a political settlement without demanding assads resignation. In his comments in the interview given last week by assad, assad claimed he was ready to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms. Neither of offers have yet been accepted, nor can we make a judgment as to the spirit with which they were intended, but can the foreign secretary offer his assessment of whether or not they constitute t a slight narrowing between the gap of the syrian authorities and Opposition Forces . Finally, mr. Speaker, let me turn to the central issue of the u. K. Support for the Syrian Opposition and the announcement and the statement made today. It is right that the u. K. Is at the forefront of coordinating International Efforts to deliver aid to those most in need both with within and beyond the syrian borders, and i welcome announcements to that effect. When it comes the our support for the syrian Opposition Forces, it is vital that all of our support must continue to be targeted and accountable if its to be effective. So, mr. Speaker, the foreign secretary has today said the government will move towards, and i quote directly, more active efforts to prevent the loss of life in syria. It is right that the International Community must increase their efforts, but it is vital that the parameters of these efforts are clearly set out, defined and understood. Indeed, on this issue the foreign secretarys statement at times raised more questions than answers as to the real direction he is suggesting for British Government policy. The foreign secretary has today spoken of the amendments made to the e. U. Arms embargo. I welcome the fact that these changes were agreed at the e. U. Foreign affairs council. Those amendments were focused on insuring that the right the to known lethal equipment could be delivered to Opposition Forces. But, mr. Speaker, the work of the Foreign Office minister in the house on monday seemed to add some confusion to an already complex issue. When addressing the house on monday, the minister said, and i quote directly, this is not about lifting any arms embargo. Mr. Speaker, he then went on to say about the recent amendments to the existing e. U. Arms embargo that it was about insuring that all options are on the table and that e. U. Countries have maximum flexibility the to provide the opposition with all necessary assistance to protect civilians. Mr. Speaker, i think given these statements it is understandable that there is currently some confusion over the governments position that requires further c