Pedersen: The situation in Syria is worrying, and we must focus on 6 priorities
UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen warned of the seriousness of the humanitarian situation that Syrians are suffering from across the country, especially in displacement camps.
Pedersen said at a Security Council session on Wednesday that the situation in Syria indicates “worrying dynamics,” as civilians face many crises, including economic, livelihood and humanitarian ones.
Pedersen added that ” We are dealing with a situation that is the result of more than a decade of war, conflict, COVID, sanctions, repercussions of the Ukrainian war, corruption and the financial crisis in Lebanon.”
Pedersen made it clear that the airstikes by the Assad regime in the northwest of Syria, the Turkish threats to launch a ground operation in northern Syria, and the continuous Israeli strikes are all factors that exacerbate the suffering of the Syrians. He also called for changing these methods and dynamics and moving away from them, as they are high risk factors that threaten civilians.
Pedersen called for focusing on six priorities and paying attention to them in order to get out of the “dark tunnel”, including those related to stopping the escalation, restoring calm, ensuring safe and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid to those who deserve it, renewing the work of the Security Council on the humanitarian level, working on the issue of detainees and missing persons, resuming the Constitutional Committee meetings, enhancing dialogue between the parties, implementing step-for-step confidence building measures between all parties, and empowering Syrian women.
