UPDATES FOR CORRESPONDENTS
28 December - Joint statement by the UN in Syria, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross
26 December - Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Special Envoy for Syria
11 December - International Syria Support Group meeting
24 November: Statement attributable to the spokesperson of the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria
14 November - Statement of the International Syria Support Group
6 November - Statement attributable to the Spokesperson of the Special Envoy for Syria
30 October - Vienna Communique on Syria
2 October - Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson of the Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura
22 September - Statement attributable to the Spokesperson of the Special Envoy for Syria
13 September - Statement of the Special Envoy for Syria to the Ministerial meeting of the League of Arab States
10 September - Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria
1st September - Special Envoy for Syria met with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Arab African Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran
17 August - Special Envoy for Syria condemned yesterday's air raids on the town of Duma
14 August - Special Envoy for Syria condemns shelling of Damascus Suburbs
12 August - Special Envoy for Syria welcomes the release of human rights activist and journalist
Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, welcomed the release of human rights activist and journalist Mazen Darwish.
The issue of freedom of the press and media, as well as arbitrary detention of political and human rights activists, remains an important component of the Geneva communique.
"I am aware of reports that many more journalists, human rights and political activists remain in detention often without access to legal and medical services,” Mr. de Mistura said.
“I strongly urge the Syrian government to take further steps and release all those detained or charged for their exercise of the freedom of expression, which is a fundamental human right.”
He added that, “we should all strive to reach a sustainable political solution in Syria on the basis of international human rights standards and freedoms.”
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5 August - Secretary-General encouraged by Security Council’s support for latest proposal on Syria
5 August - Special Envoy explains his proposal on thematic discussions
29 July - Remarks by the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the situation in Syria
New York, 29 July 2015
After more than four years of slaughter, the Syrian conflict is a shameful symbol of the international community’s divisions and failure.
I am profoundly disappointed that this Council’s resolutions on Syria have not been implemented – neither on ending the violence nor on easing humanitarian suffering or combatting terrorism and foreign fighters.
Syria is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, as you heard yesterday in harrowing detail from
the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
At least a quarter-million Syrians have been killed.
Almost half the country’s people -- 12 million men, women and children -- have been forced to flee their homes. In a massive cross-border exodus, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq are hosting an ever growing number of refugees, and increasing numbers of Syrians [are] making desperate flights across the Mediterranean in so-called “death boats”.
Atrocious crimes are now almost an hourly occurrence, fed by a lack of accountability for the major human rights violations committed over the past four years and through decades of repression.
The Syrian people have been exposed to chemical weapons, which should have been relegated to the past – and to new, indiscriminate killing devices such as barrel bombs and hell cannons.
The conflict has given rise to terrorist groups such as Da’esh and Al Nusra Front, and fuelled sectarianism and radicalization throughout and beyond the region.
And funding for humanitarian activities continues to be outpaced by the gargantuan and ever-growing scale of needs.
The situation is a clear threat to international peace and security that should compel us all to consider what more we can do to end the carnage and uphold our responsibilities.
It was in this context that on 28 March I instructed my Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, to intensify efforts by the United Nations to find a political settlement to the conflict. Specifically, I asked him to work to operationalize the Geneva Communiqué.
The Security Council unanimously endorsed the Geneva Communiqué in its resolution 2118. The document contains principles and guidelines to end the violence and launch a Syrian-led political process leading to a transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.
The Communiqué remains the only internationally agreed basis for a political settlement to the Syrian conflict, and was the foundation for recent initiatives such as the Cairo and Moscow processes.
Mr. de Mistura will brief you on his consultations. I would like to highlight four key points.
First, Mr. de Mistura’s description of the state of the Syrian crisis is a synthesis of what we heard from an inclusive and representative group of Syrian and non-Syrian stakeholders.
Second, amidst gaping fault lines, there are points of consensus upon which a credible political process can be constructed.
Syrians and external actors alike possess a shared sense of concern regarding the threshold that the conflict has now reached.
No one wants to risk the chaos of an uncontrolled transition in Damascus. All reject a future Syria divided along sectarian lines. Many Syrians warned that the country is entering a cycle of fragmentation and radicalization from which it will be hard to exit.
Our Syrian interlocutors also lamented that their country is caught in a regional proxy war that is beyond Syrians’ ability to resolve by themselves.
Almost all pointed to an urgent need for the international community to act now if we want to save and preserve what is left of Syria. As the situation deteriorates, Syrians predict that the prospects for achieving a political solution will also recede.
Third, the Syrians with whom we spoke share many of the same aspirations.
They want to protect the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, and to determine their own future free from external intervention.
They consider it impossible to return to the past.
They reject violent extremism and terrorism, and support a non-sectarian, multi-confessional and inclusive society.
And they yearn to build a genuinely democratic Syria based on human rights and the rule of law.
Fourth and finally, the consultations made clear that the major stumbling block in the political process remains the issue of forming a Transitional Governing Body, or TGB, with full executive powers that can create a suitable environment and safety for all during the transition.
The TGB is the top priority for the opposition, while the Syrian government has told us that such an institution would be unconstitutional.
Although difficult, these are not insurmountable obstacles and differences. Mr. de Mistura will therefore present a proposal to launch a political process aimed at enabling Syrians to negotiate a framework agreement on how to implement all aspects of the Geneva Communiqué.
The main goal of these preparatory negotiations will be to reach intra-Syrian agreement on the elements of the Geneva Communiqué, including on the issue of the TGB, as well as to effectively fight terrorism.
I stand ready to convene a high-level international conference to endorse any recommendations or agreement that this Syrian-led political process may reach.
The status quo in Syria is unacceptable. Some argue that we must wait to end this nightmare until there is a more propitious alignment of regional and international circumstances. This would be both immoral and irresponsible.
We must not condemn the Syrian people to even deeper despair. We must not condemn the region to unending turmoil.
Today I ask the Security Council to endorse Mr. de Mistura’s recommendations and work with the Syrian parties to convince them to participate constructively in this proposed process.
Just as important, the Council has a responsibility to support the political process by acting to de-escalate the conflict.
We must ensure that these preparatory negotiations are meaningful and not cynically exploited as a license to continue the killing.
I urge the Security Council, Syria’s neighbours and regional sponsors of the Syrian parties to stem all flows of arms and foreign fighters pouring into the country.
While ending the bloodshed remains primarily the responsibility of the Syrian parties, especially President Bashar al-Assad, there is much that the region and the international community can do to starve the fire of its fuel.
We must also build on the political momentum that has been generated by the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries. The unity that generated that agreement can help point the way towards conflict resolution in Syria and greater stability across the region.
For the moment, the greatest obstacle to ending the Syrian war is the notion that it can be won militarily. It is our failure to act with a unified voice that perpetuates this harmful illusion and allows the Syrian parties to think that there is some alternative other than coming to the negotiating table.
Today, Mr. de Mistura and I will outline a way forward to reach the political solution that all claim to support. I urge you to give this proposal your full support. If you do not, the world expects this body to present a viable alternative.
Thank you.
29 July - Special Envoy for Syria briefs Security Council on the situation in Syria
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15 June
Within the framework of the Geneva Consultations, Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy met today with representatives of leading Syrian civil society organizations, including Mr. Fadel Al Shokfa and Mr. Wael Aleji of the Syrian Network for Human Rights. They briefed on the situation on the ground, and discussed prospects for a political solution in Syria.
Mr. Ramzy met with Mr. Haitham Manna, who briefed on the outcomes of the Cairo II meeting. The two discussed the ongoing efforts of the Syrian political, armed and civil society groups to find ways to end the conflict in Syria through political means.
Mr. Ramzy also met with a Palestinian delegation, headed by Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, who briefed on the situation of the Palestine refugee community in Syria. The two also discussed the situation in the region and prospects for ending the conflict in Syria.
At the end of today’s meetings, Mr. Ramzy again registered the continued plea of the Syrian groups for an urgent end to the conflict. He stressed that there was no alternative for the United Nations to sparing no effort to help reach a political solution that would meet the aspirations of the Syrian people for peace, dignity and justice.
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In the framework of the Geneva consultations, U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Mr. Staffan de Mistura met today with a delegation from The Day After Association, led by Mr. Murhaf Joueijati, and a delegation from the Cordoba Working Group, led by Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Barmou.
Both delegations shared with the U.N. Special Envoy their perspectives for a political solution in Syria and discussed the worsening situation on the ground.
At the end of his meetings, Mr. de Mistura reiterated his strong conviction that only a political solution can address the root causes of the ongoing conflict in a sustainable manner and bring it to an end.
8 June
In the framework of the Geneva Consultations, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, met today with a delegation from the Aga Khan Foundation, composed of Mr. Mohammad Wardeh, Mr. Mohammad Seifo and Mr. Ali Esmaiel. The delegation members discussed with Mr. de Mistura the situation on the ground and shared their perspectives for a political solution.
“Civil society organizations are an important element in conflict resolution, particularly their efforts to ensure that views and concerns of all parts of societies are addressed as they can bring the voice of people and communities on the ground,” Mr. de Mistura said at the end of his meeting. “This is why their contribution is critical for a sustainable political solution which would promote human rights, pluralism and democracy,” he added.
Geneva consultations are a rolling process to seek views of all Syrian and relevant regional and international parties on the operationalization of the Geneva Communiqué.
In this context, Mr. de Mistura continues to meet separately with Syrian actors from inside and outside Syria, as well as with concerned regional and international players.
5 June
Within the framework of the ongoing Geneva Consultations, Deputy Special Envoy Ramzy Ezzeldine Ramzy met today in Geneva with representatives of the Union of Syriac Women and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who briefed on the situation in Syria. They discussed ways to support people in Syria in their daily humanitarian needs. Mr. Ramzy also discussed with the representatives of the Union of Syriac Women perspectives on a political solution to the Syrian conflict which could meet the needs of diverse components, which make up integral parts of the Syrian society.
At the end of today's meetings, Mr. Ramzy stressed that, "all should put their differences aside to ensure that aid reaches all those in need, but ultimately only a political solution would allow to address the deepening humanitarian crisis in a sustainable manner." While highlighting the urgent need for a political solution to the Syrian conflict, he added that, "it is critical that women organizations are included in any political process, fully participate in it and contribute to it".
4 June
United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Mr. Staffan de Mistura continued his meetings today in the framework of the Geneva Consultations.
He met with the president and members of the political committee of the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces (SOC) in Istanbul.
Mr. de Mistura listened to the views of his interlocutors regarding the operationalization and implementation of the Geneva Communiqué.
Both parties agreed on the importance and urgency of finding a political solution to the current ongoing conflict.
They also concurred on the urgency of an immediate halt of the killing and targeting of civilians.
“My visit to SOC today demonstrates, once again, that the purpose of these Consultations was and remains to give the chance to all Syrians to share their views of what a future Syria should look like,” Mr. de Mistura said.
Meanwhile in Geneva, Deputy Special Envoy Ramzy Ezzeldine Ramzy met with Mr. Samir Aita and Mr. Ziad Tlas who briefed on the deteriorating situation in Syria. Mr. Ramzy also met with a delegation of Japan, led by Ambassador Misako Kaji, who briefed on Japan’s support for the United Nations’ efforts to ameliorate the humanitarian situation in Syria. They discussed the ongoing initiatives to help Syrians reach a political solution to the conflict.
Mr. Ramzy observed that today's meetings in Geneva once again confirmed the desire of the international community, from far and near, to help resolve the Syrian conflict and mitigate its humanitarian consequences. He also noted that continued inaction to end the conflict is only making the military and security situation in Syria more complex.
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