Mr. Jonathan Edgar:

I refer to the importance of a humanitarian corridor. It will only come about by some diplomacy driven by the UN under pressure from politicians and the international community. The two sides in conflict will not do this on their own and they need to come under pressure to ensure this happens. I have no idea what that would look like but there needs to be an element of peace when it comes to humanitarian aid distribution. It happened in Iraq, the Balkans and Afghanistan to a certain extent and it can happen here. We were talking about the impact on families and children and what that means. The current situation is unique but I found when I was on the ground there last week that child soldiers are being recruited into fundamentalist Islamic organisations. Where there is a vacuum, which currently exists because there is an impasse, this is what will fill it, which is very worrying. The work done recently by the American and Russian governments to negotiate a pressure point on the UN to put pressure on the Syrian regime to talk to the rebel factions was essential. Any pressure parliamentarians can put on those bodies or actors will be critical.

We need to understand that the rebel side is not one unified body. There are five or six different organisations. Given the vacuum, that is creating a level of uncertainty that is not healthy within the country. Outside the political spectrum, the people who suffer are always the most vulnerable, particularly women and children, and that is what we are witnessing in northern Syria. The movement of people has increased considerably. When I was there in July, villages and towns were still operating in a war zone situation but people were still staying where they lived. That has changed and people have moved away from their homes. Those who can get across the border are in a better situation that those who are stuck in Syria.

The UN is not working across Syria; it is only working in specific areas. A huge volume of need is not being addressed by the organisation. Funding should go to where the need is greatest. That is right across Syria rather than being focused on one or two pockets in which the UN can operate.