What now in Syria?

What began as a peaceful uprising against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad six years ago has now became a full-scale civil war. The war has left thousands of people dead and millions more refugees.

The intervention of regional and world powers, including Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States has been a key factor for the continuation of the war. Their military, financial and political support for the government and opposition has contributed directly to the intensification and continuation of the fighting, and turned Syria into a proxy battleground.

With a failed peace process and continuing humanitarian crisis, we ask what is happening now in Syria and how should the UK be responding?

Chair

Baroness Jan Royall - Former Leader of the House of Lords from 2008 - 2010. Baroness Royall has held significant ministerial and other roles in the last Labour Government. She also served as Government Spokesperson for International Development and Foreign and Commonwealth Office amongst her many other roles. She is the current sponsor of the Fabian Society's International Policy Group.

Panel:

Alison McGovern MP - Member of Parliament for Wirral South and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Friends of Syria. Alison has also served on the International Development Select Committee as well as being in the Shadow Cabinet in 2015.

Oz Katerji - an Istanbul-based writer, filmmaker and humanitarian aid worker with a focus on the Middle East. He has been covering conflict in the region as a journalist for the past 8 years alongside aid work, most recently as Lesvos project coordinator for British charity Help Refugees.

Sawsan Abou Zainedin - a Syrian architect who works with Internews Europe and Syria Solidarity UK where she provides political advocacy for Syrians and works with community-based initiatives inside Syria. Sawsan received a Chevening scholarship to complete a MSc in Urban Development Planning at University College London after graduating from the Faculty of Architecture at Aleppo University in 2010.

More Speakers To Be Annouced Soon