UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : HRC54 - CoI on Syria

Thank you, Mr Le President, Excellence Che colleague.

Bonjour.

The present stalemate in Syria is intolerable.

The war has not ended, there are no ultimate winners, and the country remains one that is unsafe for the return of refugees.

Today, Syrian youth are fleeing the country in droves, leaving behind a fragmented state, a crippled economy and destroyed homes.

They no longer feel they have a future in their own country.

Despite diplomatic efforts to stabilise the situation in Syria, including through its readmission to the League of Arab States, Syrians are suffering from escalating unrest and fighting along multiple front lines, a near collapse of economy and rest and fighting along multiple front lines, and a persistent human rights relations and *****.

Nearly 12 years in, the parties to this conflict continue to perpetrate war crimes and to violate basic human rights normalisation with no clear untouchable benchmarks will not break this deadlock and will likely doom serious to more suffering, more destruction and more bloodshed.

We'll see more mothers mourning their dead or disappeared sons and daughters.

There must be benchmarks that tackle the rights based grievance that led to this conflict.

It is with these messages that we report to this Council on the situation over the past six months in Syria.

During the first half of 2023, Syrians continue to be killed, disappear, torture, Abitral, detained, displaced and dispossessed not only by the state, but also by the three other main actors controlling a third of its territory, the UN designated terrorist HTS, the SNA and the SDF in northeastern Syria.

The report before you documents attacks and civilian casualties involving Syrian forces and five foreign armies is still operating in the country.

The Syrian Army and the Russian Air Force launched many attacks on the earthquake affect the northwest, resulting in civilian casualties in Italy being May AUS air strike killed a person who they later acknowledged was probably a civilian and initiate an internal investigation into this kidding.

Air strikes widely attributed to Israel killed and injured civilians and hand their key transport instructors structure inoperable, including in the wake of the February earthquake.

Recent months also saw civilians killed and during attacks occurring between Kurdish LED forces and to Kia and Turkish backed militias along front lines in the North East.

Meanwhile, insecurity also continuing in southern Syria, including assassinations, kidnapping and detentions.

In June, tensions in Dara trigger air strike by the Syrian Air Force for the first time since 2018.

The previous month, a suspected of Jordanian air strike tackled and killed an alleged civilian drug trafficker, his wife and five children.

Since the report was finalised in July, civilians continued to be killed in separate incidents in Greater Idlib.

In August, clashes erupted in their zoo involving the SDF and local tribes and expanded to other governorates with more civilian injuries.

Mr El President, Daesh remains active and dangerous.

The Central Cedar Desert, an area controlled by multiple programme and forces including pro Iran militias, witnessed brutal attacks which result in the kidnapping and death of scores of civilians, many shot dead at point blank range.

In July, attacks claimed by Daesh killed civilians in the South of Damascus in our area known to attract Shia pilgrims.

In the SDF held notice, the Kurdish revolutionary youth continued to abduct boys and girls with a view to integrating them into security forces, despite ESDF commitments to prohibit child recruitment in areas they control.

Deaths in detention raised serious concern of torture and I'll treatment in SDF custody.

In all hall and outrage camps, living conditions amount to cruel and inhuman treatment and outrageous on personal dignity.

For an estimate 50,000, I repeat 50,000 people, mainly women and children.

We note that 14 states have repatriated more than 2200 foreigners from these camps since the beginning of this year, including more than 1800 Iraqis.

Such efforts are absolutely critical.

We have long stated that the only human rights compliant solution for Ted Grant Nationals in the Northeast is repatriations, both for integration and rehabilitation of our prosecutions as or be appropriate.

It is important to recall that especially for the children, they are victims of death themselves first and foremost and must be treated as victims.

In June, the self administration NE expressed its readiness to try an estimated 2004 in mainland boys currently in detention camps and has asked the international community for assistance.

The local courts operated by the SDF and non state actors are incapable of dealing with these numbers alongside thousands of Syrian detainees who also continue to be held on suspicion of ISIS related crimes.

Excellence across the country, state and non state actors continue to intimidate and harass activists and journalists in HTS controlled areas.

Women activists and women's organisations are particularly threatened and subjected to campaigns of hate speech both and off online.

Given the situation, it is extraordinary to see Syrians again taking to the streets and raising their voice to demand change.

Protests in Sowaida, now in their 5th week, coincide with growing criticism of public policies across government areas against a background of unprecedent levels of poverty and continuing political repression.

As the economic catastrophe in Syria deepens in, states that are imposing unilateral coercive measures must reveal the impact of these on the lives of Syrian citizens and humanitarian actors.

They must also maintain the steps taken to ease the sanctions in response to earthquakes.

All parties simply must refrain from hitering humanitarian aid to those in need.

The colossal failure at the Security Council to reach a consensus to extend the Bible How a border crossing July is a stark reminder of how politicisation deprives the most vulnerable series of much needed assistance.

Last February, delayed government consent, the fact authorities obstruction, aid diversion and Mr Achiever hurdles hindered timely access to affect the communities in north northwest Syria.

While the agreement to reach in August between the United Nations and the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to temporarily reopen both the crossing is much welcome, such temporary arrangements constrain the humanitarian response will be need for months, if near not years to come.

Why is it too much to ask to the parties and the international community?

Ensure that cross-border humanitarian assistance is provided at the necessary scale and in a sustainable manner.

Furthermore, it remains unsafe for Syrians to return to their country.

Some refugees returning from neighbouring countries, including people forcibly deported by state authorities, have been detained and I'll treated by Syrian security forces or criminal gangs.

Some have been blackmailed for their release, others were handed over to Security Council and Security Service sorry, and in some case people, include children, went missing.

We note the announcement by the ICJ that it will hold public hearings concerning the proceedings against the Senior Republic in relation to its obligation and that the Convention against Doctrine.

This is the first time the Syrian state itself will be required to defend its record.

Survivors and their families must be able to take part meaningfully in this procedure.

Excellence.

We warmly welcome the General Assembly June decision to create an independent institution on missing persons, which the Commission has long advocated for in line with the wishes and advocacy of Syrian family associations and women organisation from all parties of the conflict.

This initiative is firmly in the humanitarian tract.

This is not the trick disguise to continue to continue a criminal accountability in disguise respect the government and all other duty bearers and organisations who hold information serious 10s of thousands of missing and or disappear to proactively engage with this new institution.

Excellence.

I will end as I began.

Syria deserves much more from you.

Keeping a stalemate that ensures no outright victors emerge, but with no clear pathways to peace and to justice all ensures that everybody in Syria loses.

The violations we have been reporting on have already shown the C DS for further violence and radicalization in the years to come.

Urgent responses from the international community are required.

We are repeating this as a mantra in the last 12 years.

We cannot stand by and let this happen.

Thank you, Mercy.

HRC54 - CoI on Syria 22 September 2023