Written questions by Pritchard.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the new government of Syria on including women in senior roles in the (a) government, (b) judiciary, (c) peace and reconciliation dialogue, (d) inter-faith dialogue and (e) Syrian business and industry associations.

In the UK's engagement with international partners and Syrian contacts, we have stressed the importance of inclusivity and respect for human rights, including for women and minorities.Senior FCDO officials recently travelled to Damascus, where they discussed the importance of an inclusive transitional political process, protecting the rights of all Syrians. The UK joined talks in Aqaba on 14 December, hosted by Jordan, with Arab, US, UN and EU partners, during which we collectively underlined the importance of respect for human rights, including for women.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to re-open the British Embassy in Syria.

Currently, there are no plans to reopen our embassy in Damascus. We will keep this under review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support the release of Ukrainian civilians taken hostage by the Russian military who are not subject to the military prisoner exchange programme.

The UK consistently draws attention to Russia's abhorrent actions in Ukraine, including arbitrary detentions of civilians. In the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, alongside other participating states, we have invoked the Moscow Mechanism four times since Russia's full-scale invasion. The most recent of these reports, published in April, exposed Russia's arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Ukrainian civilians. We call again on Russia to uphold its obligations under International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, and to release all arbitrarily detained civilians.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with YouTube on its policy on (a) advertising and (b) monetisation by Russian opposition supporters on its platform.

The Government stands in solidarity with Russian independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists who continue their work, including online, at great personal risk. We condemn the Russian authorities' use of repressive legislation to severely curtail the freedom of expression and recognise the importance of the limited online platforms still available in Russia. The Government has regular engagement with Google, which owns YouTube, on a variety of matters.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with Apple on its reported removal of apps linked to Russian opposition supporters from its Russian app store.

The UK Government condemns the Russian authorities' use of censorship to punish political opposition, repress anti-war sentiment and clamp down on freedom of expression online. The UK has raised Russia's use of repressive legislation to maintain a climate of fear in multilateral fora, most recently at the UN on 29 October. The UK Government stands in solidarity with Russian independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society activists who continue their work, including online, at great personal risk. The UK Government has regular engagement with Apple on a variety of matters.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps with his international partners to help protect Hazara communities in Afghanistan.

The Government continues to call for the human rights of all Afghans to be protected, including those of Hazara communities, most recently in our statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 September. We condemn recent attacks against Hazaras. In line with the Hazara Inquiry report's recommendations, we continue to monitor and document discrimination and abuses against Hazaras, including through our support for the UN Special Rapporteur. Officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press the Taliban on human rights abuses and the rights of minorities in Afghanistan.