We are working with others to cope with the immensely complicated problems of the Syrian Crisis.
We set out to examine the effect of the Syrian Crisis on Lebanon, to meet with Syrians, including opposition representatives and refugees, in particular in the border areas, and to speak with Lebanese politicians about their perspective on the crisis.
Similarly in Turkey, the Turkish authorities fear the effect of the Syrian Crisis on their Arab Alawi population and their Kurdish community.
We also welcome the appointment of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan as the joint special envoy of the UN and the Arab League on the Syrian Crisis.
One of the tragic consequences of the Syrian Crisis is that it has diverted attention from the lack of progress in the Middle East peace process, which, as the Minister rightly said, is central to all the problems of the Middle East.
May I ask what efforts are being made to bring the Syrian Crisis to a conclusion through the G8, especially given that one of its members is the Russian Federation?
To what extent does the Foreign Secretary share my concerns about the potential for an overspill from the Syrian Crisis across these fluid borders, especially into Jordan and Saudi Arabia?
The Syrian Crisis is entering its third year, and while we hope for a political solution, a humanitarian tragedy continues to unfold before our eyes.
The UK is one of the largest bilateral donors to the Syrian Crisis.
The debate has focused on that issue almost to the exclusion of all other aspects of the Syrian Crisis, when we should surely be taking a wider look at the challenges we face.
Is he aware that the UK's humanitarian assistance to the Syrian Crisis currently runs at £348 million, and is already the single largest funding commitment ever made by the UK in response to a humanitarian disaster?
I beg to move, That this House: Deplores the use of chemical weapons in Syria on21 August 2013 by the Assad regime, which caused hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries of Syrian civilians; Recalls the importance of upholding the worldwide prohibition on the use of chemical weapons under international law; Agrees that a strong humanitarian response is required from the international community and that this may, if necessary, require military action that is legal, proportionate and focused on saving lives by preventing and deterring further use of Syria's chemical weapons; Notes the failure of the United Nations Security Council over the last two years to take united action in response to the Syrian Crisis; Notes that the use of chemical weapons is a war crime under customary law and a crime against humanity, and that the principle of humanitarian intervention provides a sound legal basis for taking action; Notes the wide international support for such a response, including the statement from the Arab League on27 August which calls on the international community, represented in the United Nations Security Council, to “overcome internal disagreements and take action against those who committed this crime, for which the Syrian regime is responsible”; Believes, in spite of the difficulties at the United Nations, that a United Nations process must be followed as far as possible to ensure the maximum legitimacy for any such action; Therefore welcomes the work of the United Nations investigating team currently in Damascus, and, whilst noting that the team's mandate is to confirm whether chemical weapons were used and not to apportion blame, agrees that the United Nations Secretary General should ensure a briefing to the United Nations Security Council immediately upon the completion of the team's initial mission; Believes that the United Nations Security Council must have the opportunity immediately to consider that briefing and that every effort should be made to secure a Security Council Resolution backing military action before any such action is taken, and notes that before any direct British involvement in such action a further vote of the House of Commons will take place; and Notes that this Resolution relates solely to efforts to alleviate humanitarian suffering by deterring use of chemical weapons and does not sanction any action in Syria with wider objectives.
However, at the end of the day, what we need is a solution to the Syrian Crisis.
First, it is hard to think of anyone who has made greater efforts than Senator Kerry to try to bring about a peaceful resolution to the Syrian Crisis.
Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the UK Government have provided more than £400 million of humanitarian and non-lethal aid in response to the Syrian Crisis, and that that is the greatest level of support that has been provided to a humanitarian crisis in the history of our admittedly small but great nation?
Everyone can see the tragedy unfolding on their television screens, and even where there is such deep disagreement between Britain and Russia, for example, or Britain and China, about the right steps to take on the Syrian Crisis, the one area of agreement is the need for humanitarian aid, so I hope that my right hon. Friend will be successful.
With reference to our ongoing humanitarian response, does the Foreign Secretary agree that the creation of a Department for International Development-funded, land-based British mobile army surgical hospital capability could play a significant part in our response to the Syrian Crisis and to any future civil war that might afflict the middle east?
During the past month I have attended the UN General Assembly, meetings at the World Bank and I have put in place a new £30 million “Lost Generation” initiative to provide protection, counselling and basic educational supplies to children affected by the Syrian Crisis.
We are providing £500 million of humanitarian support for the Syrian Crisis - £276 million for those in Syria and £224 million to support refugees and host communities in the region, including £60 million to help with the onset of winter.
It is of course for the Minister to answer that question when he responds, but he should certainly have something to tell us, since a Home Office Minister stated in a parliamentary Written Answer in October last year that the Government, “continue to discuss the Syrian Crisis with our European partners”.
That is why we firmly support the establishment of an EU Justice and Home Affairs-led regional development and protection programme, the RDPP, for those displaced by the Syrian Crisis.
He added: “We support any initiative aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian Crisis.
As we were responsible, almost 100 years ago, for drawing up the borders in this part of the world, it would perhaps seem most appropriate that we now play our part in helping to contain the Syrian Crisis within those borders.
In addition to the exploitation of the Syrian Crisis by extreme Islamists, large numbers of refugees are seeking safety in Kurdistan.
My Lords, the Syrian Crisis is probably the most serious crisis that has confronted us for a very long time.
A few months ago the Prime Minister stood at the Dispatch Box and suggested that Britain was leading the world in the humanitarian response to the Syrian Crisis.
4 billion in total, which will provide vital humanitarian support to the Syrian Crisis.
The British public are part of that spirit; they have broken new records in recent months with enormous financial contributions to the Syrian Crisis, gigantic contributions to support victims of the typhoon in the Philippines, and the Comic Relief appeal.
Countries such as Lebanon and Jordan in particular, but also many others, have been incredibly generous in opening up their borders and allowing refugees in, and it is absolutely right that today my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced that the UK Government would continue to evolve our support for those affected by the Syrian Crisis by extending that support and providing sanctuary to the most at-risk refugees from this war.
Lebanon has more Syrian refugee children than any other country, and the UNICEF “reaching all children with education” plan can make a huge contribution to achieving one of the key goals of the “no lost generation” initiative by ensuring that all children affected by the Syrian Crisis can receive a good education.
The Foreign Secretary has argued that our top priority is a political solution to end the Syrian Crisis.
We regularly raise our concerns about the lack of full funding for the UN appeal in relation to the Syrian Crisis both in the European Union and more broadly internationally.
The noble Baroness will know that my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has emphasised this in terms of how we are approaching the Syrian Crisis.
This country has a proud tradition of providing humanitarian assistance in regions that are in need, and I have highlighted the support that has been given as part of the Syrian Crisis.
The Minister will recognise that the UK is making a significant contribution to the Syrian Crisis, yet UN and other agencies estimate that there is still a shortfall of around $5 billion in required investment.
We have to ensure that the Syrian Crisis does not become a forgotten crisis and that the refugees and those affected in Syria are not forgotten in the midst of the crisis now emerging in Iraq.
In the Syrian Crisis, the Zaatari camp, just across the border in Jordan, is worrying in many ways.
We are the second-largest donor to the refugees and others suffering in the Syrian Crisis, and, as the House knows, we have led the way in tackling Ebola, particularly in supporting Sierra Leone.
This is a concern we have relating to the Syrian Crisis, and the UK is providing more than £160 million-worth of help to manage the influx of refugees.
As regards those who are concerned about the money that was spent at the end of 2013, I point out that we had the Syrian Crisis, with many more displaced people facing a winter in Syria.
Children who are displaced by the Syrian Crisis not only lose their homes, but are at risk of having their life chances permanently and irreparably damaged.
The Syrian Crisis alone has seen 3.
Some 99% of the refugees from the Syrian Crisis are still in the countries that border Syria, and the UK has put £800 million into helping them build their lives there and educating their children.
The Syrian Crisis is distinct in that it involves a major political crisis, not necessarily economic migration, so there is a necessity for Europe, and Britain in particular, to take a mandatory quota of Syrian refugees.
The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to the Syrian Crisis, providing £800 million to date.
Of course, we continue to press all our international partners to work towards a political solution to the Syrian Crisis.
The Syrian Crisis comprises five different conflicts that cross-infect and exacerbate each other.
Since the Syrian Crisis began in 2011, the UK has received more than 6,800 Syrian asylum claims and granted asylum or other forms of leave to more than 4,200 Syrians.
That is why the International Development Secretary has committed another £100 million to assist in tackling the Syrian Crisis, with the total reaching £900 million.
Our commitment to the Syrian Crisis to date is £900 million, and as a result only 2% of the 11 million displaced Syrians have sought asylum in Europe.
The Syrian Crisis has created nearly 4 million refugees, yet fewer than 200 have settled back in the UK through the Syrian vulnerable persons relocation scheme.
As my noble friend said, the UK is the second largest donor to the Syrian Crisis.
We have committed £900 million to help people displaced by the Syrian Crisis, making us the second largest bilateral donor in the world in response to that humanitarian crisis.
Is it not time, however, for us to put our considerable diplomatic weight behind serious attempts, with our European partners, to find a political solution to the Syrian Crisis that might ultimately enable many of these migrants and asylum seekers to return to their homes?
That obviously needs a solution to the Syrian Crisis, but it is the right answer rather than an even bigger movement of people.
However, the nature of the Syrian Crisis and the humanitarian crisis that we face is straining that convention at its seams.
The World Food Programme, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and others are talking about the strains on their resources to deal not only with the Syrian Crisis, but with other crises.
Since the Syrian Crisis began, we have granted protection to almost 5,000 Syrian nationals and their dependants under our normal asylum rules, in addition to the more than 200 we have taken under the Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, which is for the most vulnerable people - survivors of torture and violence, women and children at risk, and people in need of emergency medical treatment.
Since the beginning of the Syrian Crisis back in 2011, the UK has granted asylum to about 5,000 Syrians.
Since day one of the Syrian Crisis, Britain has been at the forefront of the response.
I have met many refugees from the Syrian Crisis in my time in this role and I am proud that Britain has played a leading role in the humanitarian response to the crisis.
As my hon. Friend sets out, Britain has been one of the key funders of the WFP over recent years, more broadly as well as particularly in relation to the Syrian Crisis.
At Christmas 2013 we match-funded part of a DEC appeal in order to ensure its success, and we will continue to look at how we can use that as a mechanism to share the priorities of the British people, which we are already mirroring in the amount of effort we are putting into the Syrian Crisis.
In 2013, two years into the Syrian Crisis, I visited Lebanon and met refugees in makeshift camps in the Beka'a valley and in the Shatila camp in Beirut.
The UK will continue to demonstrate the leadership we have shown throughout our response to the Syrian Crisis to mobilise the international community.
One of the reasons that there is an increased flight of refugees is that Syrians have lost hope in the international community's ability and, indeed, willingness to make any progress in handling the Syrian Crisis.
7% of GNI, and the UK is the second biggest bilateral aid donor for the Syrian Crisis.
Kuwait has hosted three fundraising conferences for the Syrian Crisis, raising billions of dollars.
As the Syrian Crisis has grown over the past four years, Her Majesty's Government have done - and will continue to do - everything we can to help those in immediate need.
Of course, there is the wider humanitarian aspect: 100,000 children born as refugees in the Syrian Crisis; 5 million going without education; 10 million at risk in Yemen.
This country and this Government can be proud of the efforts we are making to support refugees from the Syrian Crisis.
The Prime Minister announced to Parliament at the beginning of last month our agreement to resettle 20,000 vulnerable people from the Syrian Crisis.
Does he agree we should urgently be seeking a new UN Security Council resolution on a comprehensive approach to the Syrian Crisis, including action against ISIL?
We have provided more than £1 billion to assist refugee camps to cope with the Syrian Crisis, yet there has been palpably no reduction in the tidal wave of migrants, whether economic migrants or those genuinely fleeing persecution.
There were also pledges of more aid for regional responses to the Syrian Crisis, particularly in Turkey - the main launch point, as we have heard, for Syrian refugees trying to reach Europe.
The UK has a proud record of leadership on the response to the Syrian Crisis.
The reality is that we can be proud of the work the UK is doing to support refugees affected by the Syrian Crisis - whether it is the work we are doing in the Mediterranean to save lives, the thousands of people who have been given asylum already, the approach we now have of relocating people from the camps safely and securely, or the kind of support closer to home that I have set out today.
I have also set out how we have already provided asylum for several thousand people who have arrived in the UK, after making the journey because of the Syrian Crisis.
The hon. Gentleman has raised one of the most important elements of the response to the Syrian Crisis.
In the wake of terrorist outrages and the ongoing civil war in Syria, it is very welcome that there is significant diplomatic progress in trying to find a solution to the Syrian Crisis.
UK policy on Syria remains to defeat ISIL and seek a political solution to the Syrian Crisis, thereby eroding the threat of ISIL and reducing the flow of refugees from Syria.
I am proud of the role that Britain plays in helping refugees, not just from the Syrian Crisis but from the crises that we have seen before.
Secondly, in his recent statement to Parliament, the Prime Minister very reasonably and articulately set out his “four pillars” strategy in relation to the Syrian Crisis: the counter-extremism strategy; the diplomatic and political process; military action to degrade and destroy ISIS; and immediate humanitarian aid and longer-term stabilisation.
In June 2012, I helped to negotiate the nearest we came to a resolution of the Syrian Crisis.
Given that the gateway programme is considerably expanded owing to the Syrian Crisis, will the Minister assure us that the UK's international obligations will be met and that civil legal aid will be available to all new refugees?
The Prime Minister will be giving an update on that shortly, but I think we can be proud of the role that the United Kingdom has played in leading the humanitarian response to the Syrian Crisis, and of all the support we have provided, right from day one, to the refugees affected by the crisis.
Does it remain the position of the British Government that Assad cannot be part of any solution to the Syrian Crisis?
Dealing with the Syrian Crisis, which is the source of so much of the terror that we face and the source of the migration crisis that is facing Europe, has to be top of mine.
Russia clearly has a role to play in helping us to achieve a peaceful resolution to the Syrian Crisis.
1 billion in humanitarian aid to the Syrian Crisis.
The Minister will be aware that the way to solve the Syrian Crisis is through the political situation in Syria.
On the broader issue, the hon. Lady will know that the UK and UNICEF set up the “No Lost Generation” initiative, which has enabled half the children affected by the Syrian Crisis to be in school.
Our work on the Syrian Crisis gives people in the region hope for a better future and is also firmly in Britain's national interest.
The Syrian Crisis is the most pressing humanitarian challenge facing us at this time, and the Government are to be commended on co-hosting an important conference that has raised more than $10 billion for Syrian refugees.
I am very proud of the work that the UK has done to put children at the centre of our response to the Syrian Crisis.
The sort of step forward that we saw last Thursday - the commitment that no child will be lost to the Syrian Crisis, and that all children will be back in school - is absolutely critical.
One thing that came out of that meeting earlier today - the Syria delegation had a chance to debrief us and tell us about the situation - was that they said that the solution for the Syrian Crisis is in Syria, and I do not think anyone in the Chamber would disagree with that.
What dialogue has the Minister had with our French counterparts as a result of the Syrian Crisis regarding the safety and child protection arrangements for unaccompanied child refugees who are at grave risk and who are due to be dispersed from the jungle camp in Calais?
This is not just a Syrian Crisis; many nationalities are trying to come to the EU.
As my hon. Friend says, a number of genuine refugees caught up in the Syrian Crisis are coming over, but there is also the crisis in Iraq, particularly with the impact of Daesh in northern Iraq, which has also led to refugees coming over.
The creation of those safe and legal routes for refugees to reach safety is a vital part of the response to the Syrian Crisis.
On a wider point, the meeting on30 March is one of a number of initiatives aimed at addressing the Syrian Crisis, but we must not forget that it will also allow us to develop efficient and safe processes for any other large-scale movements of refugees.
Some of the refugees we have already received as a consequence of the Syrian Crisis will be based in Turkey because they will be in some of the camps which are outside Syria on the border with Turkey.
We remain one of the largest donors to the Syrian Crisis response internationally.
The doubling of our aid for the Syrian Crisis to £2.
That is exactly why we recently doubled our aid for the Syrian Crisis to £2.
I am sure hon. Members will agree that the outpouring of support we have seen in response to the Syrian Crisis has been incredible, from local authorities that have volunteered to take refugees as part of the Syrian resettlement programme, to offers of help from the general public, businesses and voluntary organisations.
The Syrian Crisis has devastated a once peaceful country.