Written question asked by Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative) on Friday, 13 May 2011.

Syria

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the meeting of United States Senator John Kerry with President Bashar al-Assad, the United Kingdom will consult American colleagues about how to end the violence in Syria.

Answer: The UK is working closely with the US, the EU and other international partners to press the Syrian authorities to stop the violence and respect basic and universal human rights to freedoms of expression and assembly. The UK actively supported a strong US-tabled resolution that the UN Human Rights Council passed on 29 April 2011 condemning Syria's conduct and launching a fact finding mission to investigate human rights abuses. As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister said on 1 April, clearly in Syria we need to do more to step up the pressure on that regime to show, internationally, that this violent repression is not acceptable.

Secondary information