I am briefing you today from Geneva at the end of the 4th day of the 7th Session of the Small Body of the Syrian Constitutional Committee.
Security Council Briefings (Text)
Every month I draw your attention to the fact that Syrians across the country – and those who are displaced - are facing poverty and hunger at levels higher than at any point in the conflict.
Let me at the outset stress that Syrians continue to suffer deeply and that violence in Syria is indeed continuing.
We meet at another year’s end, and we can only look back on 2021 as a year of deepening suffering of the Syrian people.
Last week, between 18 and 22 October, I convened the Sixth Session of the Small Body of the Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated Constitutional Committee in Geneva.
Last week, a grim announcement reminded us of the appalling suffering and losses of the Syrian people.
Over the past seventeen months, I have been informing you that, as compared with past phases of the conflict, there was a relative calm in Syria across largely frozen front lines of conflict.
An imminent priority is of course the humanitarian situation, and let me fully reiterate the Secretary-General’s appeal when he briefed you on Wednesday. Civilians across the country desperately need life-saving assistance and help building resilience.
We take note that today a presidential election is being held under the auspices of the current constitution. As indicated previously, this is not part of the political process called for in Security Council resolution 2254.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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 --
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.