‘Piecemeal Diplomacy’ Will Not End Syria Conflict, United Nations Envoy Tells Security Council
‘Syria Continues to Sleepwalk into Further Deterioration,’ Says Delegate
All key stakeholders in Syria’s 13-year conflict must engage with the United Nations in a single format as the country remains in “a profound state of high conflict and territorial division,” the Organization’s senior mediator told the Security Council today, stressing that "piecemeal diplomacy" conducted by different groups does not work.
“We, as the UN, are among the very few who can directly engage with Syrians from all sides of this conflict” — not just the political actors but civil society, too, Geir O. Pedersen, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, told the 15-member organ during a monthly update on the implementation of his mandate set out in Council resolution 2254 (2015), which takes a comprehensive view on the issues that must be addressed to end the conflict and bring peace.
He observed that stability cannot be achieved without a political process among the warring Syrian sides and the constructive support of all international players. Accordingly, he underscored the need to move the UN-facilitated political process forward by breaking the deadlock on the Constitutional Committee — “a door opener to a genuine political process” — and implementing a new comprehensive approach. “There is no military solution to the conflict, and there is no piecemeal diplomatic solution either,” he asserted, appealing to all stakeholders to engage.
“Thirteen years of conflict and hardship have pushed the people of Syria well beyond the limits of ordinary endurance,” said Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of Coordination, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Painting a grim picture of the skyrocketing humanitarian needs facing over 16 million Syrians, he said that the impact on children — who account for almost half of those in need — is “particularly devastating”. More than a third of school-aged children — around 2.5 million — will not be rejoining their peers in the classroom this year. A huge number of children are also suffering the harmful effects of food insecurity, and some 2.5 million children remain displaced across the country, including nearly 1 million living in camps, where they face a heightened risk of sexual violence and other forms of abuse. “Many have never known any other kind of life,” he said.
The UN and its partners continue to provide people with the vital assistance they need, reaching 4.4 million people throughout Syria each month, out of 10.8 million targeted. However, due to funding shortfalls, aid is reaching 2 million less people a month than last year, he pointed out, adding that the humanitarian appeal remains less than 26 per cent funded. He observed that the cross-border operation from Türkiye remains vital for getting assistance to north-west Syria. Also, for the first time earlier this month, the UN was able to carry out a cross-line assessment mission to the Al-Kisrah district on the eastern side of the Euphrates River in Deir ez-Zor. Critically, he said, “we need investment in early recovery efforts to expand the opportunities for families to rebuild their lives and livelihoods and enable a brighter future for their children”.
In the ensuing discussion, many speakers expressed concern about the escalation of hostilities in Syria. Slovenia’s delegate, Council President for September, warned in her national capacity that “Syria continues to sleepwalk into further deterioration”. Recalling that 14 million Syrians were forced to leave their homes, she stated: “We need to do more to counter the anti-refugee rhetoric and sentiment.”
Calling for the revival of the Constitutional Committee, Switzerland’s delegate stressed that her country remains ready to host further meetings in Geneva. Her counterpart from Malta underscored that “only political progress — in line with resolution 2254 (2015) — can unlock the just and lasting peace that the Syrian people so desperately need and deserve”.
Along similar lines, the representative of Algeria, speaking also for Guyana, Mozambique and Sierra Leone, urged Syrians to overcome their differences and commit to a “Syrian-owned, Syrian-led” inclusive process to resolve the conflict.
Many delegates expressed alarm about the severe underfunding of the Humanitarian Response Plan. “They are the future of Syria,” underscored Japan’s representative, who urged children’s access to safety, necessities and education. She called for the efficient operationalization of all possible aid delivery modalities, including cross-border and cross-line, and investments in early recovery and resilience to build a stable and safer country.
“All States must urgently scale up humanitarian assistance to address the critical funding gap in Syria,” declared the representative of the Republic of Korea. Noting that the shortfall is now larger than it was at the same time last year, he voiced concern that this gap has already forced reductions in critical services, including emergency food aid and health care.
Similarly, Ecuador’s representative stressed that donors must fulfil their commitments to maintain the Humanitarian Response Plan and alleviate the needs of those who require humanitarian aid. He called squarely on the Syrian Government to ensure that cross-border and cross-line access is kept open to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, the representative of the United States stressed that the regime’s claims of the country being safe are “not truthful”, as it “is conducting business as usual with horrific consequences for Syrian civilians”. Warning that “the systematic brutality will not end” without accountability, he urged the Council to demand justice and dignity for the Syrian people. He reiterated that his country “will not fund regime-led reconstruction” and the sanctions would remain in place until “a minimum authentic and sustained progress” towards a political solution is achieved.
In the same vein, the speaker for France observed that Damascus is making no significant gesture to enable the UN-led mediation to make progress. “We are ready, as long as there is a tangible political process, to lift sanctions and finance reconstruction,” he noted, urging Syria to grant permanent authorizations to Bab El Salam, Al Rai and Bab El Hawa crossings.
The United Kingdom’s delegate recalled that the Russian Federation started its military intervention in Syria nine years ago and continues to abed the regime’s violence, prolonging the suffering of millions.
Rejecting such a claim, the speaker for the Russian Federation said that stability in Syria can only be achieved when there is “an end to the illegal foreign military presences”, accusing Washington, D.C., of using terrorists to destabilize the country. Voicing alarm over the humanitarian sufferings of the civilians in Syria, he said that its “root cause” was “far from just the ongoing hostilities”, but, instead, triggered by the collective attempts of the West and the United States “to topple the ‘regime’” alongside with the “unilateral, illegal sanctions” — “a noose on the neck of the Syrian people”. He urged the UN to publicly address the impact of sanctions and called for increased financial support to address the humanitarian needs.
Voicing concern over Israel’s continued air strikes on Syria amidst the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, China’s delegate called for an end to violations of Syria’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity” by foreign forces. He urged donor countries to honour their commitments to fund the UN humanitarian response and called for the immediate lifting of sanctions — “the biggest obstacle to improving the humanitarian situation in Syria”.
For his part, Syria’s representative said that Israel continues to launch deadly attacks against his country and underscored his country’s right to self-defence. Damascus is determined to recover the occupied Syrian Arab Golan in “every way” allowed by international law. For UN-Syria collective efforts to work, some Western countries must stop politicizing humanitarian work. “Children are suffering because of the lack of electricity and heating as winter approaches,” he stressed, blaming the United States and the European Union for targeting such services via unilateral coercive measures. These “illegitimate” acts have inflicted “grave harm” on many sectors, including health, water and housing. Terrorist groups in north-west Syria continue to impose their “dark ideology” and attack cities and towns, including with drones, which proves that Kyiv has been providing them with such weapons, he said.
Iran’s delegate observed that Syria continues to suffer from occupation and urged illegal forces to leave Syria immediately. “Israel deliberately targets civilians and civilian infrastructure,” without any response from the Council, he added. The humanitarian situation in Syria is dire, he stressed, expressing Tehran’s commitment to a political solution and the resumption of a Constitutional Committee meeting.
Echoing that, Türkiye’s delegate said Syria may not feature high on the international agenda these days, but the reality in the country is nothing short of catastrophic. Despite calls for humanitarian funding, cuts in aid financing mean “less food on the table” and “less protection for millions of women, children and elderly”, he cautioned.