Merci Madame la Présidente,
I thank the Special Envoy Pedersen, Ms. Mudawi and Ms. Aveline for their remarks.
We are now well into the 13th year of the tragic Syrian conflict. More than 500,000 Syrians have been killed, while half of the country’s prewar population are displaced. Credible reports indicate that 90% of Syrians are now destitute, and much of the infrastructure is destroyed.
The economy is in shambles. Millions of Syrians need urgent assistance, hundreds of thousands live in makeshift tents, and over a hundred thousand are still unaccounted for, forcefully disappeared, detained, or missing. Violence, including from terrorist groups, has not stopped.
Despite their precarious conditions, millions of refugees must now cope with another anxiety: the specter of forced and undignified return to Syria, a country disfigured by conflict. No surprise that less than one in ten Syrians wants to return to Syria voluntarily.
Madam President,
As we heard, the humanitarian demands of Syria are the largest worldwide and the situation is worsening, including in the aftermath of the earthquake.
We commend all donors that provide indispensable aid, and we are in awe by the tireless efforts of local and international relief workers – and Ms Aveline gave us a taste of what it takes to help Syrians – who pursue their noble mission of assisting everyone, everywhere possible in Syria and providing them with a lifeline, especially women and children.
The extension of the two border crossings: Bab Al-Salam and Al-Ra’ee, until August is a clear recognition of the absolute need for unfettered access of humanitarian aid to all Syrians. We urge the Syrian regime to keep these crossings open for as long as they are needed.
We are convinced that the cross-border authorization of Bab Al-Hawa remains indispensable to secure humanitarian access, and provide life-saving aid to over 4 million people in north-west Syria.
Colleagues,
More than 130,000 Syrians arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, have forcibly disappeared.
Albania has continuously highlighted this critical issue in the monthly discussions in the Security Council, asking for concrete action in this respect.
We welcome the draft resolution presented in the UNGA for the creation of a new institution to determine the whereabouts of the missing.
We call on all UN members to acknowledge the purely humanitarian character of this initiative, and refrain from any form of politicization.
The sole aim of the text is to provide closure to all those Syrians who are and remain without news about their loved ones, and, whenever the case, provide them with a dignified burial.
These are matters we should all agree on, and never succumb to the temptations of scoring political points on the back of the aggrieved.
Madam President,
We all know that the Syrian drama will continue to unfold before our eyes if there is no proper, genuine, and inclusive political process.
The root-cause of all suffering in Syrian is political, and it can be alleviated only through a just and lasting political solution.
We deplore the deadlock of the Constitutional Committee and the ostensive lack of good faith by the regime to allow for the desperately needed political transition in Syria, in line with Council Resolution 2254 (2015), which, after nearly a decade, remains unimplemented, despite the tireless efforts by the Special Envoy.
Colleagues,
A few weeks ago, Syria has been reintegrated in the Arab League.
We would like to believe that the regime will not see it as a concession or as acceptance that its scorch-earth strategy in the war has worked, but rather as a hand extended by Arab neighbors to all the Syrian people.
We sincerely hope that this new development will help create a new impetus and the conditions for the full implementation of Council Resolution 2254 (2015) and begin the Syrian-led transition towards a free, democratic, and prosperous Syria for all Syrians.
In our view, it will require the regime to seriously commit to political reforms, take responsibility for war crimes, ensure a safe return of some 6 million refugees and the dismantling of a drug-producing and smuggling network that has turned Syria into a narco-state with serious regional implications. That will help bring the country back. That will help its reconstruction.
We remain convinced that justice and rights are indispensable for lasting peace, in Syria and everywhere.
Therefore, ending impunity for serious crimes by making sure that perpetrators are held accountable for their violations will lay the foundations for reconciliation and a future that is different and better than the terrible past in Syria.
I thank you!
