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8696th Security Council Meeting: Situation in the Middle East, Syria
Syrian Activist, ‘on behalf of Silent Majority’, Encourages Joint Efforts to End Hostilities, Ensure Respect for Human Rights
The Special Envoy for Syria told the Security Council today that he is forging ahead with efforts to unify Government and opposition representatives around an agreed agenda for the newly launched Constitutional Committee, aiming to bring the protracted political process back on track.
Geir Pedersen said that after nine years of violence in Syria, the process laid out in Council resolution 2254 (2015) is more urgent than ever, despite last month’s failure by representatives of President Bashar al‑Assad’s Government and the Syrian Negotiations Commission to agree on what the Committee should discuss.
Speaking via video teleconference from Geneva, he said he is facilitating an agenda through talks with the two sides, and with international stakeholders. Absent an agenda, there is no reason to convene a third session, he cautioned.
Reviewing the situation on the ground, he said the north‑west has seen a deeply troubling escalation of violence and that the human cost of a full‑scale military offensive “is a price that we simply cannot afford to pay”. He called for ceasefire arrangements in the north‑east to be respected and warned that the security situation in the south remains turbulent.
Looking ahead to 2020, he said Constitutional reform alone will not meet the concerns of the Syrian people. A nationwide ceasefire is needed, as are efforts to fight terrorist groups while respecting international humanitarian and human rights law, and the release of detainees. Deeper discussion among international stakeholders will also help, he added.
Rajaa Altalli, of the Centre for Civil Society and Democracy, told the Council about the kidnapping, torture and nine‑year detention of her father, who had joined an opposition political party. “This story is the story of thousands of Syrians from before and during the conflict,” she said, emphasizing that tens of thousands have been detained and tortured.
“I call upon you, on behalf of the silent majority of Syrians, to work together and, with Syrians, to find a sustainable solution,” she said, adding that the road to peace must include an end to all hostilities, improved conditions for displaced persons, provisions for supervised, voluntary refugee returns, human rights guarantees and safeguards, and the inclusion of women and youth.
In the ensuing debate, speakers decried the deadlock in the Constitutional Committee and expressed support to the Special Envoy’s efforts to break it. They also renewed calls for an immediate Syria‑wide ceasefire and emphasized the gravity of the humanitarian situation, the topic of a Council briefing on 19 December (see Press Release SC/14061).
Kuwait’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs said the launch of the Constitutional Committee was both a glimmer of hope and a first step on a path that would ultimately lead to free and fair elections. He voiced concern, however, over ongoing military operations and condemned the targeting of innocent civilians.
The Russian Federation’s delegate said no one expected that the Committee’s work would be easy and that it would be counterproductive to dramatize the situation. Syrians must be given the opportunity to understand how they can reach agreement between themselves, he said, warning against pressuring the parties or burdening them with time frames.
The representative of the United States, Council President for December, speaking in her national capacity, said that President Assad’s regime was responsible for stalling the Committee’s work by presenting a set of preconditions. Calling for a nationwide ceasefire in 2020, she warned that there must be no Christmas offensive in Idlib and that attacks on civilians must stop.
Germany’s delegate, in the same vein, said that by creating artificial discussions over agenda items, the Syrian regime wants to avoid substantive debate. Calling on the Russian Federation and Iran to use their influence over Damascus, he also stated his concern about the risk of further destabilizing the region and resurgence of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh).
Equatorial Guinea’s delegate meanwhile cautioned against attempts to undermine either reconciliation or the constitutional drafting process. The threat of external interference is a clear contradiction of resolution 2254 (2015), he said.
On that point, Syria’s representative said the Government has tried to advance the work of the Constitutional Committee through a set of national pillars focused on the rejection of terrorism, the presence of foreign parties and embargoes. Rejecting the interventionist policies of the United States, United Kingdom and France, he wondered aloud how these Governments, having declared a love for Syrian oil, could advance a Syrian‑led political process. He urged all Council members to allow the Committee to work in an independent manner.
Also speaking today were representatives of France, United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, South Africa, China, Poland, Indonesia, Belgium, Côte d’Ivoire and Peru.
The meeting started at 10:11 a.m. and ended at 12:12 p.m.
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