Durable political solution allows Syrians to rebuild, recover – US diplomat
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A durable political solution to the conflict in Syria contributes to help Syrian people to rebuild and recover, Linda Thomas Greenfield, US Representative to the United Nations, briefed the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
In her briefing on Syria, Greenfield added, “Unfounded and unnecessary delays in the Constitutional Committee’s work must end.”
Speaking of the return of Syrian refugees and IDPs to their areas, she noted they “will not return home as long as they fear for their own safety, and that of their loved ones.”
About the health condition in the country, she noted to the outbreak of cholera which “poses a great threat to Syria’s people.”
Thomas Greenfield revealed that her country would offer about $756 million dollars funding to Syrians, stressing the need to “extend the cross-border aid mechanism in January for another 12 months.”
She pointed out that the Syrian government and its Russian ally should do right by the Syrian people, since “130,000 people are still arbitrarily detained or are missing.”
In her briefing, Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, said the political process and the prevention of an economic collapse in Syria will not advance meaningfully until “violence is curtailed and ultimately ends.”
Rochdi added though the past two weeks witnessed relative calm, civilians in Syria are still being killed, detained and displaced.
She called for nationwide ceasefire as a “fundamental goal” for the political process in Syria, referring to woman’s key role in “shaping the political solution.”
The cholera outbreak in Syria is a “stark reminder” of the vital support Syrians need, Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told the council.
Griffiths stressed that the decreasing water level of the Euphrates River causes severe water shortage in the northeastern part of the country, stressing the urgent need for access to safe water.
Since Turkey started cutting off Euphrates River, the areas in northeast Syria have witnessed environmental and living catastrophes in addition to affecting agriculture and electricity.
Since February 2022, Turkey has been reducing the flow of the Euphrates River’s water into Syria, amid threats of a humanitarian catastrophe.
During the past two years, the level of the Euphrates has fell to unprecedented records, after the amount of water flowing from Turkey towards Syria has decreased to below 200 cubic meters per second, which is less than half the amount agreed upon between the Syrian and Turkish governments in 1987.
Briefing on the extent of devastation in Syria, Barbara Woodward, Permanent Representative of the UK to the UN, said the Syrian government and its allies bear primary responsibility for it.
She noted that Russia continues to halt the Constitutional Committee process, calling for the full implementation of resolution 2254 (2015).
Ameirah Obaid Mohamed Obaid alHefeiti, Deputy PR of UAE Mission to UN told the council the increasing attacks by the Islamic State Organization (ISIS) threaten security and stability in the entire Syria.
Speaking of Hawl Camp, al-Hafeiti added that difficult conditions in the camp require urgent attention from the international community.
She stressed that ISIS is still spreading its thoughts and ideology in the camp, exploiting the deteriorating security conditions there.
Hawl Camp, 45 km east of the city of Hasakah, is a house for 55.829 individuals, including 28.725 Iraqis, 18.850 Syrians and 8.254 of foreign nationalities, according to the latest statistics obtained by North Press.
The camp witnesses murders with different methods, most notably firearms. The management of the camp fears that the latest Turkish threats of invading areas in northern Syria would pave the way for ISIS to reorganize its ranks; North Press cited a statement by the management as saying.
Unexploded remnants of war still threaten lives of the Syrian people in different parts of the country with “one out of every two people at risk of death or injury,” she added.
Vasily Alekseevich Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, said it is important to resume the work of the Constitutional Committee, noting that his country, together with its partners in the Astana format, [Iran and Turkey], will continue to facilitate long-term normalization in Syria.
Even with more than 100.000 missing people in Syria, the “Syrian regime” still refuses to publish lists of prisoners or issue death certificates said Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations.
He also touched on the issue of cross-border mechanism aid to Syria, stressing the need to renew the mechanism next January, for at least one year.
He noted that following the renewal of the cross-border mechanism operational difficulties were reported including “an increase in costs, and uncertainty for humanitarian actors.”