Pedersen: The year 2023 was a tragic year for Syrians and the conflict has not been over yet

ARK News… Geir Pedersen said that 2023 was another tragic year for civilians in Syria, and the challenges on the ground cannot be addressed without making real progress towards a political solution.

In a briefing by the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General to Syria, before the UN Security Council, on Thursday, January 21, 2023, said that the current year witnessed devastating earthquakes, a decline in the economy to new lows, and the worst acts of violence in three years, and it also witnessed “diplomatic openness.” “New,” but it did not lead to tangible changes on the ground in the lives of Syrians. Pedersen concluded:

“This has been another tragic year for Syrian civilians, who have been killed, wounded, displaced, detained, and kidnapped in alarming numbers, and have not witnessed any tangible movements toward a better future.

” He talked about the escalation of violence, the continued bombing and clashes in various regions of Syria, the Israeli strikes on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, and the attacks that are targeting American bases in “northeastern Syria.” In addition to “the continuation of violence on all battlefields in Syria, especially in northwestern Syria,” and its escalation again in some areas, with worrying reports of civilian casualties.

The UN Special Envoy to Syria indicated that the risk of regional conflicts spreading is increasing “due to developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel,” and that this danger is also fueling the fire in Syria.

He stated: “The challenges on the ground are symptoms of a conflict that no actor or group of actors can solve alone, and these challenges cannot be addressed sustainably without a political process that makes real progress towards a political solution that addresses the issues contained in Security Council Resolution 2254.”

Pointing to "the opportunity to review the political process and stressing the importance of moving it forward, when he met with the Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister in Geneva and the head of the Syrian Negotiating Committee in Doha," and his meeting with senior Arab, Russian, American, Iranian, European, and Japanese officials, he stressed that he reminded everyone that "international cooperation is necessary to restore the Syrian political process is on the right track."

Pedersen called for taking the necessary steps to reconvene the Constitutional Committee, and that new momentum should be gained on the political path during the next year, 2024.

He said, "Proposals for step-by-step confidence-building measures are on the table, which would benefit all Syrians and give important political momentum to the political process."

In his briefing, Pedersen appealed to donors to fund all pillars of the United Nations response, and to continue searching for solutions to ensure the continued delivery of humanitarian aid across borders and across lines.

In conclusion, he stressed that the current situation is unsustainable and unacceptable, and that this conflict cannot be left unaddressed, “and in the coming year 2024, there is a clear need to refocus on the political process called for by UN Resolution 2254, eight years ago.”

270