UN
The Syrian Women’s Advisory Board are meeting in Geneva this week - for the first time in person for a year. I thank the Swiss authorities for enabling this.
Security Council Briefings (Text)
The Syrian conflict has now raged for ten years – roughly the length of World War 1 and World War 2 combined. Ten years ago, peaceful popular demonstrations were violently suppressed.
15 Mar 2021
Allow me to start by reminding all of us of the intensity of the conflict in Syria. Next week we will be commemorating the tenth anniversary of the start of this terrible crisis, and the lack of progress in the political process is high on our collective mind.
09 Mar 2021
As the Syrian people face the year 2021, a decade of conflict has seen them experience death, injury, displacement, destructions, detention, torture, terror, violations, indignities, instability, intervention, occupation, division, de-development and destitution on a massive scale.
20 Jan 2021
Let me brief you today on the Constitutional Committee, the situation on the ground, and the search for a wider process towards a political solution that implements resolution 2254.
16 Dec 2020
It is an honor for me to address this Council today. The Special Envoy is continuing a set of engagements – he is, in fact, today in Riyadh – in support of the UN-facilitated political process.
25 Nov 2020
As we mark this month twenty years since the passage of Security Council resolution 1325, let me recall the central role that Syrian women must play and are indeed playing in the political process mandated by resolution 2254
27 Oct 2020
I begin today’s briefing recalling – as I did last month -- the deep suffering of the Syrian people, who in this almost full decade of conflict have experienced death, injury, displacement, destruction, detention, torture, terror, indignities, instability, de-development and destitution
18 Sep 2020
As I brief you today, I remain acutely conscious of the deep suffering of the Syrian people, who in this decade experienced death, injury, displacement, destruction, detention, torture, terror, indignities, instability, de-development and destitution on a massive scale
19 Aug 2020
Thank you for the opportunity to brief you on Syria and my effort to facilitate the political process pursuant to Security Council resolution 2254. I am joining you today from Geneva
23 Jul 2020
Last month, I told you how struck I was by the depth of concerns among ordinary Syrians at the current state and future of their beloved country. A month on, I have heard these messages even louder --
16 Jun 2020
Since my last report, I have engaged widely among Syrians from all parts of the country, who have been keen to communicate with the United Nations at this time when all of us are finding new ways to be in touch.
19 May 2020
Last month, you, the members of the Security Council, “called on all parties to ensure a sustained period of calm throughout the country and reaffirmed the need for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2254”.
29 Apr 2020
We have arrived at another critical point in the Syrian conflict. After terrible violence, an uneasy calm prevails on the ground – and now, Syrians face a new potentially devastating threat in COVID-19.
30 Mar 2020
Since my briefing two weeks ago, I cannot report any progress in ending the current violence in the northwest or in reconvening the political process.
19 Feb 2020
Thank you for the opportunity to brief on the alarming situation in north-west Syria, which has further escalated since last week’s briefings. Heavy strikes from both air and ground are causing massive waves of civilian displacement and major loss of civilian life.
06 Feb 2020
It is an honor for me to brief this Council today. The Special Envoy is in Damascus where he is seeking to de-escalate the situation in the northwest and to renew progress in the UN-facilitated political process. Let me update the Council on where we stand today.
29 Jan 2020
One year ago, many believed that the Syrian conflict was winding down. Yet the past 12 months have seen a steady stream of violence, punctuated by escalations, that continue to this day, across many areas of Syria – such as the northwest, the northeast and the south.
20 Dec 2019
On 30 October, 150 Syrian men and women gathered in Geneva to launch a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, credible, balanced and inclusive Constitutional Committee facilitated by the United Nations. This was a potentially historic moment.
22 Nov 2019
In one month, on 30 October 2019, I intend to convene 150 Syrian men and women for the launch of a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, credible, balanced and inclusive Constitutional Committee facilitated by the United Nations in Geneva.
30 Sep 2019
Let me start with the very worrying situation in and around the Idlib de-escalation area. Regrettably the fighting continues, with reports of: airstrikes, shelling, rockets and mortar attacks, all too often involving the indiscriminate use of force.
27 Jun 2019
I have spent the last eight weeks shuttling between the Syrian Government and opposition and consulting key players.
30 Apr 2019
I have taken up this task with all humility, and conscious of the profound grief and suffering of the Syrian people everywhere. I am conscious of the need to end this conflict for the sake of Syria, the region and the world. I know you all understand the scale and difficulty of my task.
28 Feb 2019