QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Four years after the breakout of the crisis in Syria, the United Nations Security Council made a united voice for the first time regarding the situation in the war-torn Syria.
On December 18, 2015, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted the Resolution 2254 endorsing a road map and setting a timetable to the talks to take place in January 2016.
The resolution shaped a more active role for the UN as the forum for talks between the opposing sides regarding a political transition and set out a timetable for a ceasefire and elections. The political process under UN auspices called for the establishment of “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance” within six months and the drafting of a new constitution and holding of free elections within eighteen months.
All Syrians over eighteen, according to the resolution, including members of the diaspora, would be eligible to vote. The resolution also highlighted the importance of a ceasefire to allow access for humanitarian workers to reach people in need, and called for the release of all arbitrarily detained persons. The resolution also calls for the immediate end of indiscriminate use of weapons and attacks against civilians, in order to meet the “critical need to build conditions for the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their home areas.”
Embracing the June 30, 2012 Geneva Communiqué, and Vienna Statements, the resolution called for “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance” within six months to be followed by drafting a constitution leading eventually to elections in the country.
Extremist groups such as al-Nusra Front, now Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), among others, were excluded from any peace negotiations.
Being as the best solution to end the crisis in Syria, the former US Special Envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, believed that implementing the resolution would solve several problems in Syria.
“The solution to many problems of Syria is for the international community to put more emphasis on the UN resolution from 2015 that called for a reorganization of the country, a new constitution and reconciliation between the opposition in the Assad regime,” Jeffrey said.
The 2012 road map for peace in Syria was approved by representatives of the UN, Arab League, European Union (EU), Turkey and all five permanent Security Council members including Russia calls for the drafting of a new constitution.
However, intransigence from the part of the Syrian government, factionalism of the Syrian opposition – politically and militarily – added to interferences by regional and global powers in the Syrian issue, the resolution seems to be ink on paper.
The Syria government, which is still sticking to the pre-2011 mentality, has always considered the events sweeping the country a globally-hatched conspiracy. Russia and Iran – though having respective differences – were faithful allies of the Syrian government in standing up to the opposition forces whose “friends and backers” dropped one after another over the years.
On the other side of the coin, the last month’s unexpected and mysterious takeover by Abu Mohammad al-Julani’s HTS of Afrin, north of Aleppo, showed how weak, divided, unreliable and pliable Syrian opposition factions are.
Most importantly, the human suffering in Syria seems to be something of the past. Recently, voices were high for the return of Syria to the Arab fold. Though Syria’s seat at the Arab League still vacant after nine summits since the Syrian crisis was started in 2011, it is largely expected that it is a question of time.
Returning step-for-step to the Arab fold, Syria’s return to the Arab League could be a last blow to the opposition.
Today, Syria is a de facto three-way partition; Syrian government largely backed by Russian forces and Iranians that control much of the country. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) the military wing of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) control much of East Euphrates, and Syrian opposition backed by Turkey that controls some north and northwest areas of the country.
However, though powers controlling these contingent regions represent different ideas and ideologies for different ends, the vast majority of Syrians (civilians) in the three de facto regions share the same every daily reality of poverty, instability and insecurity.
On October 25, 2022, Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, told the UN Security Council that Syria is facing “acute violence”, the worst economic crisis since the war began in 2011.
Warning of implied risks of cholera, Pederson went on to say Syrian currency “has lost a huge amount of its value which, in turn, saw food and fuel prices jump to even higher record prices”. He also pointed out that the economic crisis “will only get worse for the vast majority” as winter approaches and additional funding is urgently needed.
On the very same day, in a briefing on the political and humanitarian situation in Syria, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, James Kariuki said it was Russia and Syrian government intransigence that precludes any progress be made in Syria.
“Russian and regime intransigence continues to preclude progress and we call for their participation in good faith. We urge them to de-politicize the Constitutional Committee,” Kariuki said adding his country supports the UN Res. 2254.
Following a meeting with Syria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Mekdad in the Syrian capital Damascus in mid-October, Pederson repeated his call for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria.
“We will continue to work to try to see if there is a possibly for a nationwide ceasefire,” Pedersen told a reporters.
He said Syria’s economic situation is “extremely difficult as close to 15 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.” He added that the UN will keep working to secure humanitarian aid to Syrians in the government-held and opposition-held areas.
Under the step-by-step process to draft a new constitution in the country, the Syrian parties – government and opposition – have met since 2019 for eight rounds with no results yielded.
However, scheduled to start on July 25, 2022 in Geneva the ninth round was postponed reportedly because the government contended that Switzerland is not neutral because of its support for EU sanctions against its ally Russia.
Geneva is the major European headquarters for the 193-member UN.
Since Syrian President Bashar Assad regained the upper hand in the civil war, the government delegation has shown little willingness to compromise, according to observes.
As the decade-long crisis has shaped the country immensely, the human suffering still goes on while the political arena remains undecided and engulfed by uncertainty.