Thank you, President, and I thank Special Envoy Pedersen and ASG
Msuya for their work, and the work of their teams, in trying to
alleviate the suffering for the Syrian people as well as for
their briefing today.
Thirteen years ago, the Syrian people took to the streets in
peaceful protest to demand their freedom, dignity, and respect
for human rights. The Assad regime suppressed these protests and
launched a ruthless campaign of violence that continues to this
day. Over 500,000 people have died and over half of the Syrian
population have been forcibly displaced.
Thirteen years on, we need to see three key changes.
First, there needs to be urgent, positive steps on the political
process, based on Resolution 2254. Month after month, this
Council comes together to stress the importance of SCR 2254. The
Format, and the Arab Contact Astana Group, have underscored its
importance. But we have not seen the parties, and specifically
the regime, take the steps that this Council called for. Too much
time has elapsed since the Constitutional Committee last met. We
welcome the continued efforts by Special Envoy Pedersen to
convene a meeting of the Constitutional Committee in the near
future. We reiterate our call for the Assad regime to engage
meaningfully in the political process.
Second, the international community needs to increase its
humanitarian support and contribute to early recovery.
Humanitarian support and early recovery remain critical. The UK
remains a committed donor throughout the conflict, contributing
over $4 billion since 2011. We call on others to join our early
recovery efforts which have supported education and learning,
particularly for girls, and opportunities to support people’s
livelihoods to increase their self-reliance.
In a time of constrained resources, it is the responsibility of
all parties in enabling principled, sustainable and unhindered
access, including cross-border, to access vulnerable communities
in the North-West.
Third, the Assad regime continues to profit from the illicit
trade of captagon, fuelling its oppression of the Syrian people.
Earlier this month, the UK and the Kingdom of Jordan co-hosted an
event here in New York, to highlight the risks and malign effects
of the captagon trade. We will continue to seek coordinated
global action on captagon, in close cooperation with our regional
partners.
President, a Syrian-owned, Syrian-led political settlement in
line with resolution 2254 represents the only viable mechanism to
bring about sustainable, inclusive peace in Syria.
And I thank you.
