Near East Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
Paul Price
Website
: https://www.gov.uk
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
06 June 2017
Dear Paul
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 REQUEST REF: 0452-17
Thank you for your email of 5 May 2017 asking for information under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) 2000. You asked:
Matthew Rycroft tweeted on 25th April a picture of himself and what appeared to be Read
Saleh and that 90,922 people have been saved by the White Helmets
https://twitter.com/MatthewRycroft1/status/856987919222964225
Can you provide the evidence, as recorded data for such figures.
You may be aware that many people know that White Helmets are a terrorist organisation.
Can you send any due diligence that has been carried out over the last 5 years to convince
the FCO that the White Helmets are a bona fide First Aid Organisation worth funding and not
a terrorist organisation?
I am writing to confirm that we have now completed the search for the information which you
requested.
I can confirm that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does hold information
relevant to your request.
In answer to your question:
The United Kingdom has provided assistance to Syria Civil Defence (SCD) - also known as
the White Helmets -since June 2013 through the Conflict Pool and its successor, the Conflict
Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Recipients of CSSF are carefully selected to prevent
funds and equipment being given to those involved in extremist activities or human rights
violations. We monitor the situation on the ground, and all equipment transfers are approved
UNCLASSIFIED
by HMG immediately before delivery. All our assistance is carefully calibrated and legal, is
aimed at alleviating human suffering and supporting moderate groups and is regularly
monitored and evaluated. Syria Civil Defence is a Syrian-led, independent organisation with
an agreed Code of Conduct (see
http://syriacivildefense.org/volunteers-save-lives). It is
dedicated to saving life wherever and whenever possible and does not have relationships
with registered terrorist groups.
UK funding to the Syrian Civil Defence has been used to train and equip many of the over
3,000 active volunteers working in 120 civil defence teams inside Syria, delivered by trusted
third party implementers. Each of the 120 Syria Civil Defence (SCD) teams is required to
make an operational report after each civil defence operation it conducts. The operational
report requires the team to list the number of deceased and the number of people rescued.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have stated that SCD are their most
routinely reliable source inside Syria.
Since August 2014, the number of people rescued by the Syrian Civil Defence has been
collated at a national level as a total figure. As at 1st May, the number of lives saved by
Syria Civil Defence is 95,024. It was for this work that the Syrian Civil Defence were
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 and 2016.
Once an FOI request is answered, it is considered to be in the public domain. To promote
transparency, we may now publish the response and any material release
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the FOI and DPA Team, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Room K4.04, King Charles
Street, London, SW1A 2AH. E-mail:
xxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx. You have 40 working days to
do so from the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may then apply directly to the
Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot
make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the FCO.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Near East Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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government departments and public authorities.
UNCLASSIFIED