BRIEFING
BY JOINT SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE LAKHDAR BRAHIMI TO THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
NEW
YORK, 14 MARCH 2014
Mr.
President of the General Assembly,
Mr.
Secretary General, .
Your
Excellencies,
Distinguished
delegates.
l.
I am deeply honoured to address this august Assembly.
2.
On Tuesday 25 February, the General Assembly was briefed by the
Assistant Secretary General for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the
High Commissioner for Refugees, and the Director General of the World
Health Organisation. They have confirmed what you have known only too
.well: that the humanitarian situation is bad and continues to get
worse, and that the UN and aid agencies do not have all the space and
assured protection they need to do as much as they can and should do.
3.
will therefore not say too much about the humanitarian situation
except to underline the gravity of that situation, the immense
suffering inflicted upon the Syrian people and the urgent need to
solve this crisis which, as the Secretary General has just reminded
us, is entering its fourth year. I feel however that it is my duty,
to pay tribute to the UN Staff, national and international who are
trying to deliver aid to the millions of suffering Syrian men, women
and children. I salute the memory. of the local Syrian staff who have
made the ultimate sacrifice all 14 of them - alongside 34 young
volunteers of the Syrian Red Crescent also killed while flying to
help their suffering compatriots. I would like to draw attention to
those of our colleagues, national staff, - 23 from UNRWA, 2 from UNDP
and one from IOM who have been imprisoned and call on the Syrian
Government to release them. And I would like to pay tribute to all
the partners of the UN, chief among them the ICRC, for their
admirable compassion and dedication. And I must add my voice to the
many calls made for the release of the ICRC staff members who have
been kidnapped in Northern Syria; several months ago.
4.
The scope of the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria is mind-boggling:
we now speak of close to 10 million people who need aid to simply
survive. About this time last year, we were told that the number of
refugees will pass the‘ 2 million mark by the end of 2013; it has.
We now hear that, if the conflict continues at its present level of
devastation, we should expect the refugees to number 4 million by the
end of this year and the number of the dead may reach 350,000 if not
more by 2015. These numbers sound frighteningly high. But when one
hears that half a million people left Aleppo during the past few
weeks, we see that those levels will alas! be attained and probably
surpassed.
5.
The admirable hospitality of Syria’s neighbours and the generous
solidarity of the donor community are highly appreciated: they are
saving thousands and thousands of lives; they will naturally not
provide a lasting solution to a catastrophe of this magnitude. Only a
political solution to the crisis will. The Secretary General has been
calling for such a solution from the very beginning of the crisis.
And when the confrontation between the Government and significant
parts of the population became a military confrontation, he
ceaselessly called for an end to the flow of arms to all parties and
pleaded for a collective international effort to help the Syrians
solve their crisis through peaceful means. His appeals have
unfortunately not been heard.
6.
For a long time, each side in the bloody confrontation in Syria was
determined to achieve military victory and confident that such a
military victory was within reach. It was first the Government who
thought they would crush in no time what they called a
foreign-inspired and funded terrorist campaign. It was then the
opposition, armed and civilian, who thought that the present regime
in their country would crumble the way the regimes in Tunisia and
Egypt did. Others expected or called for a repeat of the Libyan
scenario. It is now again the Government who are confident that their
side will win on the battlefield and soon.
7.
The military position of the Government of Syria is clearly much
stronger in the beginning of 2014 than it was in 2013. Nonetheless,
the conflict remain in a stalemate. The assessment of most observers
is still that neither
side
can achieve a decisive military victory in 2014. Relationships
between Armed Groups were and still are complex. The Free Syrian Army
has firmly distanced themselves from Al-Qaeda affiliates. But
locally, the two sides at times get together to carry out joined
operations. In other cases, heavy fighting occurred between various
Armed Opposition Groups. Thus, in Aleppo the so-called Islamic State
of Iraq and Sham or ISIS managed to expel other groups and take
control of a significant number of neighbourhoods starting from
September 2013, which led to a decision by other armed groups, mainly
the Islamic Front and Jaysh Al Mujahedeen, to start a campaign
against ISIS.
8.
The Government has embarked on a number of negotiations with
Opposition Armed Groups, mainly around the capital and in the
provinces of Horns and Quneitra. By the end of February, about twenty
such arrangements had been made and at least twenty more are under
negotiations. The pro-Government media portray these cease-fire
agreements as the perfect model to end violence and start a national
reconciliation process. Observers have expressed doubts about the
viability of these ad-hoc arrangements. Witness the recent
development at the Palestinian Refugee Camp of Al-Yarmouk where
fighters belonging to Al-Nusra Front have re-entered the camp and the
Government has re-imposed a very tight siege on the camp where 18,000
to 20,000 Palestinian refugees are again 'deprived of everything.
9.
The remarkable efforts of our colleagues of the UN Country Team and
volunteers the Syrian Red Crescent in the case of the Old City in
Homs were truly heroic. It is not normal, however that mediators and
humanitarian workers are made to take such high risks. The ICRC did
not take part in that operation because the minimum conditions
required by International Humanitarian Law were not respected.
10.
In an op-ed published on February 15, Dr. Peter Maurer, the President
of the ICRC reminded everyone of 7 those conditions, some of which
are:
.
Evacuation must be voluntary and those who choose to be evacuated
must be protected;
-
A pause in the fighting must remain in place for as long as it takes
for the agreement to be implemented in a specific area;
-
Civilians evacuated must be provided with shelter, hygiene, nutrition
and safety. Anyone detained evacuation must be treated humanely and
allowed toicontact his family;
.
Humanitarian workers must be allowed to carry out field visits to the
besieged areas and have direct contact with the population to assess
their needs.
Mr.
President,
11.
v Meanwhile, the country continues to be systematically destroyed.
The Govemment and the Armed Opposition Groups (AOG) are not only
destroying their present and compromising the future of the Syrian
people. They are also destroying their past. Few countries have as
rich a history, a civilization and culture as Syria does. As we have-
repeated many times since the beginning of the conflict, protecting
culture today is essential for building peace tomorrow. The
Secretary-General, UNESCO Director General Irina Bukova and myself
have made a joint appeal to the Syrian parties, to the Syrian people
and to the world at large to save what can still be saved of Syria’s
and the world’s cultural heritage.
12.
The economic situation is catastrophic. More than three years of
bitter conflict have placed Syria on the cusp of colossal destruction
that could see it become a failed state by 2015. With each day the
conflict continues, Syria turns back the clock in terms of human
development and economic growth. According to ESCWA, every additional
day of conflict costs the country over US$100 million in GDP; by the
end of 2013 Syria’s GDP had contracted by 42% from pre-crisis
level. With GDP per capita currently at little over US$1600 at 2010
nominal prices, Syria's economy is gradually falling to become that
of an LDC. Unemployment has reached 42%. In 2010, it boasted one of
the lowest poverty rates Worldwide, relative to its level of income
per capita. The undernourished population is now close to 10 per cent
of the population. And these are averages, meaning that in some
areas, the situation is far more tragic than these figures suggest.
13.
Every hour close to 300 people flee their homes. Not surprisingly,
according to Syrian official sources, nearly 38% of students today
are falling outside the educational system. Access to water has
decreased by 70% since 2011
To
sum up, the Syrian conflict has thus far cost over three decades of
development. That means each year of crisis costs the country around
10 years of development.
Mr.
President,
14.
Let me now turn to politics. You have all seen the statement made by
the Secretary-General on Wednesday as the Syrian crisis entered its
fourth year: “Syria is now the biggest humanitarian and peace and
security crisis facing the world” he said. The agreement reached in
Moscow between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State
John Kerry on 7 May 2013 was a wakeup call for everyone. In substance
the two ministers agreed that:
- First, the Syrian crisis was a serious threat to peace and security;
- Second, military victory was not possible for either side;
- Third, a political solution was necessary and possible;
- Fourth the Russian Federation and the United States would work together and with others to achieve such a solution; and
- And fifth, the Geneva Communiqué adopted by the so-called “Action Group” on 30 June 2012, offered a good basis for such a Solution.
15.
Although the agreement was well received everywhere, it took 8 months
for Geneva 2 to be convened; but Syrians and non-Syrians remain
divided in all sorts of ways. The Coalition of Revolutionary and
opposition Forces (SOC) was bitterly divided between those for a long
time a minority — who cautiously and conditionally welcomed the
prospect of Geneva 2 and those who remained opposed to it because
they considered that the regime would not negotiate in good faith and
would not respond even to the minimum demands of the Revolution and
the Syrian people. They finally agreed to participate merely 48 hours
before the opening of the Conference at Montreux, on 22 January.
There was no time, of course, for them to resume their contacts with
others to form a broader based delegation to the Conference.
16.
The Government gave a conditional agreement to its participation in
the Conference. On 8 January, replying to the invitation from the
Secretary General, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Walid
Moallem wrote: “I should like to note that we do not agree with
several of the points made in the letter [of invitation] because they
are contrary to the legal and political stance of the Syrian State
and are not in accordance with the supreme interests of the Syrian
people. The top priority for the Syrian Arab people remains to combat
terrorism, which targets all components of our people; to tackle its
sources; and to insist that its State sponsors comply with
international law and United Nations resolutions by desisting from
arming, training and sheltering the terrorist groups.”
17.
In Montreux, neither side extended an open hand to the other. The
long speech delivered by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Walid Moallam was uncompromising. In Geneva, the Government
delegation remained true to the line expressed in the above quotation
and the Moallam speech in Montreux, i.e. that combating terrorism was
their top priority if not the only subject they were ready to
discuss. The Opposition delegation embraced the Geneva Communique
with a new found enthusiasm; they were rigidly focused on what they
hoped would be a quick implementation of its main provision: the
formation of the Transitional Governing Body which should take power
away from the present Administration.
18.
In Geneva, my aim for the first round of discussions was to keep the
two sides in the room and that was achieved; but there was no real
dialogue between them. The Government presented what they called a
draft declaration of principles right at the beginning, which the
other side refused to discuss. The Opposition made an emotional
appeal to the other side which was not heard. At the end of the week
I drew my own conclusions from the meetings and deliberately gave it
an optimistic assessment.
19.
Before we resumed our meetings, I addressed a letter to the two
sides, suggesting an agenda for the next round and a method of work.
The Agenda included four points:
a)
Ending violence and fighting terrorism;
b)
the Transitional Governing Body;
c)
National Institutions between continuity and change; d) National
Reconciliation and National Dialogue.
20.
A revised agenda was agreed to, but only at the very end of Round 2
it was meant for. The proposed programme of work was based on the
faCt that the Government delegation considered that Terrorism was the
most important if not the sole point to be discussed, while the
Opposition gave utmost importance and priority to the TGB'. I
recognized that both issues were indeed important and proposed that
they be discussed in parallel. At the same time, I reminded the
parties that the basic principle was that final agreement will take
place only when both sides were satisfied that the subject or
subjects they considered important had been addressed to their
satisfaction.
21.
The Opposition finally agreed with my proposal. The Government
delegation did not. They demanded that the items of the agenda should
be discussed in succession and insisted that the issue of terrorism
had to be discussed until some common ground on terrorism was
achieved and agreed upon by the Opposition. Although the Government
delegation repeatedly said they were ready to discuss all subjects,
including the TGB in due course, they created a clear impression that
theirs were delaying tactics and the Opposition was strongly
suspicious that the Government side did not wish to discuss the TGB
any time soon, if ever.
22.
I At the end, I had to accept that we were going nowhere. I was
hoping that the second round would be better than the first. It was
not; indeed it was worse. I therefore put an end to the last meeting
after only half an hour and invited the two delegations, especially
that of the Govemment, to return home to reflect and consult with
their respective leadership on if and how this process can be
energized.
Mr.
President,
23.
number of bad news darkened the atmosphere: on the last few days of
round 2, it was leaked that the Government had, last November, put
the names of several members of the opposition delegation on their
list of terrorists, with their property confiscated and their bank
accounts frozen: these were Ahmed Al-Jarba, Anas AlAbda, Nazir
al—Hakim, Haitham al-Maleh, Louay Rima Flayhan, Souhair al-Atassi
and Badr Jamous. Soon after the end of Round 2, we heard that Mahmoud
Sabra, brother of Mohamed Sabra , a member of the Opposition
Delegation was arrested and, still worse, Wissam Fayez Sara, the son
of a member of the SOC died in detention — allegedly under torture.
Let us also recall that Raja Al-Nasser, a prominent member of the
National Coordination Committee had been arrested, allegedly because
he supported the participation of his organization to the Conference
in Geneva. As is the ease for his colleague Adbulaziz Alkhayer, who
disappeared more than 18 months ago as he left Damascus airport, the
Government now says that Raja Al-Nasser is not in their hands. The
latest worrying news concerns Ms. Amal Nasr who was arrested a few
days ago; she is a member of the group of women Who met in Geneva and
strongly support the Geneva process and a political solution to the
crisis in their country. These women, I understand, include women who
support the Government, who support the Opposition, or who are
independent.
Mr.
President,
24.
The Syrian people have followed the talks closely and with very high
expectations. They are deeply disappointed but that disappointment
reflects a deep conviction that only a political outcome, not
fighting, killing and destruction will bring deliverance. Perhaps
Geneva also gave some impetus to discussions on humanitarian access.
Some even tell me that the discussions in Geneva were a consideration
in the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2139. I do hope that
the momentum created by that resolution will not only give better
access to the needy people in Syria but also open the way to the
exchange of prisoners, the release of detainees, more and better
built local cease-fires and, Why not, an end to violence.
25.
The Secretary-General strongly supports the continuation of the
Geneva process and wishes that the two parties return as soon as
possible to the table for a third round and continue the discussions
until the beginning of the end of this cruel conflict appears in the
horizon. I am sure that this Assembly shares that view. I too,
naturally agree with this position. For a Third Round to be
meaningful, we need to ensure the parties come better prepared and
motivated to make progress. Both should come back with genuine
political will to negotiate. -
26.
The beginning of the process, modest and disappointing as it was, has
nevertheless the Syrian parties and all of us with the fact that
simple mantras on how the conflict should end will not do; she or he
who believes in a political solution must understand and accept that
there is no substitute to negotiating seriously and patiently the
tough issues that divide the nation.
27.
There is another factor that complicates the picture further, namely
the numerous indications that the Government in Damascus may be
seriously preparing the ground for a Presidential Election to be held
in May or June 2014, in conformity with the present Syrian
Constitution. I very much doubt that any of the opposition groups
that are strongly opposed to the present Government, inside or
outside of the country will consider that negotiations may continue
if presidential elections are scheduled in May or June. There is
every reason to fear that presidential elections in Syria under the
present circumstances will slam the door to the Geneva negotiations
for the foreseeable future.
28.
I very much doubt that a Presidential election and another 7 year
term for President Bashar Al-Assad will put an end to the unbearable
suffering of the Syrian people, stop the destruction of the country,
and reestablish harmony and mutual confidence in the region.
29.
Whether the process in Geneva resumes or not, whether the Syrian
Government holds a Presidential election or not, the
Secretary-General for his part, and the United Nations as a whole, do
not have the option of walking away from Syria. And left alone, Syria
will continue to bum and engulf with it the region.
30.
Yesterday, I told the Security Council that Syria cannot be placed on
a back burner. of that magnitude needs the full attention of this
Organization - the attention of the Security Council and that of the
General Assembly.
Thank
you Mr. President.
Follow me on Twitter @NabilAbiSaab
No comments:
Post a Comment