UN diplomat urges world to prioritize peace in Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Friday the international community must prioritize peace and push for the political process in Syria.
“The international community needs to unite to push for political process in line with Security Council resolution 2254 (2015),” Pedersen said in a statement on the 13th anniversary of the Syrian conflict.
“We must prioritize peace,” he added. “If we do not do so, the grim downward trends across nearly all indicators in Syria will only continue in the year ahead.”
The UN diplomat indicated that Syria has endured “unspeakable violence and devastation” that impacted all segments of society.
There are still 16.7 million individuals who need humanitarian assistance, more than five million refugees have been living in neighboring countries, and more than seven million individuals are internally displaced inside Syria, Pedersen noted.
He confirmed that the only way to end this conflict is to pursuit a political solution that can restore hope to the Syrian people.
Based on this, Pedersen appealed to all parties to the conflict in Syria to “immediately cease all violence and fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.”