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The British Government strongly condemns the persecution of communities on the basis
of their religion, belief or ethnicity. We are concerned about the growing number
of reports of Christians, and other minority groups, being targeted in Syria with
many having already fled to camps in Lebanon, Turkey or Jordan. The UK has committed
a total of £700 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region.
Of this, £314 million has already been allocated to help ensure refugees from Syria
are supported in neighbouring countries. We are supporting non-governmental efforts
to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups in Syria, with a
view to a future political settlement. We are also funding training for Syrian activists
to document abuses to a criminal law standard with the aim that this documentation
could be used in a future process of accountability. In Iraq we have committed £23
million of humanitarian assistance to help those who have fled Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant (ISIL) advances. Following lobbying from the UK and other international
partners, a resolution was passed at the Human Rights Council in September, mandating
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to despatch a mission
to investigate and report on ISIL abuses. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East
(Mr Ellwood), met the Archbishop Athanasius of the Syriac Orthodox Church in London
on 29 July to discuss the situation for religious groups in the region and issued
a statement condemning reported threats against Christians in Iraq and Syria. We continue
to encourage influential religious leaders in Iraq to speak out publicly and condemn
sectarian violence.
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