Annex: Written Ministerial Statement of 15 April
2013[9]
Non-lethal Equipment for Syrian Opposition
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs (Mr William Hague): I informed
the House on 6 March 2013, Official Report, column 961,
that I intended to provide additional non-lethal equipment to
the Syrian opposition in order to help save lives. I have today
laid a departmental minute containing details of that gift.
The gift includes:
five 4x4 vehicles with ballistic protection and 20
sets of body armour to the Syrian opposition National Coalition's
assistance co-ordination unit;
three 25-tonne trucks, one 20-tonne truck, four 12-tonne
trucks, six 4x4 SUVs, five pick-ups, one recovery vehicle and
four forklifts to ensure that the assistance co-ordination unit
has the means to deliver assistance in the quantities necessary
to have an impact on the suffering in Syria; and
three advanced civil resilience kits for regional
hubs and 22 basic civil resilience kits for other local councils;
107 generators; 130 solar powered batteries; hundreds of radios,
water purification kits and rubbish collection kits; as well as
basic administrative equipment — laptops, VSATs and printers.
This equipment will support local administrative councils, through
the National Coalition, to extricate the injured from the rubble
in the aftermath of a mortar attack and to provide clean water
and refuse management equipment to prevent the spread of disease.
Making the gift was a matter of special urgency because
of the appalling and deteriorating situation on the ground and
the urgent need to help the Syrian opposition deliver support
to civilians. Owing to the Easter recess, this gift was notified
to the Committee of Public Accounts to consider on Parliament's
behalf. I also wrote to the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committee,
Defence Committee and Committee on Arms Export Controls to inform
them of this process. As no objections were received, we have
now proceeded with the arrangements to make these gifts.
9 HC Deb, 15 April 2013, col. 17WS. Back
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