UNITED NATIONS, Dec 09 : After 14 years of brutal war and the fall of Bashar al-Assad\u2019s regime, the people of Syria can now seize an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
As reports continued to emerge from Damascus where opposition forces declared victory overnight on State television, the UN chief said in a statement: \u201cThe future of Syria is a matter for the Syrians to determine.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is much work to be done to ensure an orderly political transition to renewed institutions, Guterres, and noted that his Special Envoy, Geir Pedersen, will be working with all Syrians to this end.<\/p>\n
Pedersen, who has been attending a high-level meeting of Arab States in Doha this weekend, has called for \u201curgent political talks\u201d in Geneva to secure a peaceful future for Syria.<\/p>\n
There was widespread backing for his appeal, he said on Saturday, from Iran, Russia and T\u00fcrkiye along with the United States, France, Great Britain, Germany and the European Union.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the Secretary-General renewed his call for calm and avoiding violence at this sensitive time, while protecting the rights of all Syrians, without distinction. He also noted that the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected in all cases in accordance with international law.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will need the support of the international community to ensure that any political transition is inclusive and comprehensive and that it meets the legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria, in all their diversity,\u201d Guterres said, adding \u201cSyria\u2019s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity must be restored.\u201d<\/p>\n
The UN, he said, will honour the memory of those who have borne the brunt of the 14-year conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain committed to helping Syrians build a country where reconciliation, justice, freedom, and prosperity are shared realities for all. This is the path to sustainable peace in Syria,\u201d the Secretary-General added.<\/p>\n
The dramatic development in the Syrian capital follows a lightning advance by armed opposition forces, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), on 27 November from their stronghold in the country\u2019s northwest into Government-controlled areas, reportedly supported by rebel groups joining from the south.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will respond wherever, whenever, however we can to support people in need, including reception centres \u2013 food, water, fuel, tents, blankets,\u201d said Tom Fletcher, Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.<\/p>\n
The hostilities have uprooted more than 370,000 people inside Syria, according to OCHA, \u201cwith many seeking refuge in the northeast and others trapped in front-line areas, unable to escape\u201d, the UN\u2019s top aid official in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cCivilian casualties, including women and children, continue to rise, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated humanitarian action,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
After sweeping into Syria\u2019s second city, Aleppo, Hama, Homs and now Damascus have fallen in quick succession, despite suggestions that the Security Council-designated terrorist group lacked the means to sustain their stunning gains.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Pedersen highlighted the \u201c14 years of relentless suffering and unspeakable loss\u201d that Syrians had suffered, as their country was torn apart in a conflict that began as a peaceful protest against the Government, only to draw in regional and international forces which have stymied the efforts of the Security Council to end the fighting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis dark chapter has left deep scars, but today we look forward with cautious hope to the opening of a new one \u2013 one of peace, reconciliation, dignity, and inclusion for all Syrians,\u201d he said in a statement.
\nTransfer of power<\/p>\n
The UN negotiator also issued an appeal for the new rulers in Damascus to ensure a stable transfer of power and to maintain the country\u2019s institutions.<\/p>\n
This was the \u201cclear desire\u201d of millions of Syrians, Pedersen insisted, so that they can ultimately see their \u201clegitimate aspirations\u201d fulfilled \u201cand restore a unified Syria, with its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, in a way that can receive the support and engagement of the entire international community\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the immediate aftermath of HTS\u2019s reported victory and declaration to the millions of Syrians displaced by the conflict that \u201ca free Syria awaits you\u201d, news reports indicated that opposition forces met little resistance in taking Damascus, while former President Bashar Al-Assad flew to Moscow where he has taken asylum.<\/p>\n
Years of fighting between Government troops reinforced foreign State-backed fighters against opposition forces including ISIL extremists \u2013 now essentially pushed out of Syria \u2013 have devastated Syria, despite repeated calls for peace via several rounds of UN-led negotiations in Geneva.<\/p>\n
Insisting that Sunday\u2019s developments marked \u201ca watershed moment in Syria\u2019s history\u201d, UN Special Envoy Pedersen stressed the need to \u201cprioritize dialogue, unity and respect for international humanitarian law and human rights\u201d as the Syrians \u201crebuild their society\u201d.
\nArab States, Russia urge end to fighting<\/p>\n
On the sidelines of his official visit to the Doha Forum, Pedersen also spoke to the representatives of Turkey, Iran and Russia \u2013 the so-called Astana Group \u2013 who had gathered to discuss the opposition forces\u2019 rapid gains in Syria.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement issued ahead of the fall of Damascus by the Astana members and the Foreign Ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan Egypt and Iraq, they urged an end to the fighting and expressed their support for UN-led efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis, based on Security Council resolution 2254.<\/p>\n
As events in Syria continued to unfold, the UN\u2019s top aid official, Tom Fletcher, stressed the need to uphold international humanitarian law \u201cto protect civilians, including aid workers\u201d.<\/p>\n
That appeal followed reports of a deadly airstrike at Syria\u2019s Ad Dabousiyah border crossing with Lebanon on 27 November in which a Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) volunteer was killed, along with multiple civilians. The incident led to the suspension of all UN humanitarian convoys into Syria.<\/p>\n
Although \u201cessential\u201d humanitarian operations have been maintained inside Syria, the UN has begun to relocate \u201cnon-critical staff\u201d from the country as a precautionary step, the UN\u2019s top aid official in the country has said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not an evacuation and our dedication to supporting the people of Syria remains unwavering,\u201d and stressed that \u201crumours suggesting that the United Nations is evacuating all staff from Syria are false,\u201d Adam Abdelmoula said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in the wake of reports that a coalition of forces has seized the Syrian capital and freed prisoners from Sednaya and other detention facilities, the UN human rights probe on the situation called today \u201ca historic new beginning for the Syrian people who have suffered unspeakable violence and atrocities over the past 14 years.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is time to finally put Syrians\u2019 own aspirations first and place the country on a path toward a stable, prosperous and just future that guarantees the human rights and dignity its people have so long been denied,\u201d said the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in a statement.<\/p>\n
For decades, Sednaya and other infamous detention facilities have been synonymous with fear, loss, suffering and cruelty. The cells where detainees were ill-treated are now open, as are the interrogation chambers where they were tortured using cruel methods that the Commission has documented for years.<\/p>\n
The Commission called on all parties in Syria to facilitate access for independent humanitarian and human rights actors, including the Commission, to the country, including detention facilities. It stresses the importance of ensuring that all evidence is protected.<\/p>\n
Both opposition and Government leadership have made initial statements indicating their commitment to maintaining good conduct and protecting civilians, which is encouraging. Their deeds must now match their words, stated the Commission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 09 : After 14 years of brutal war and the fall of Bashar al-Assad\u2019s regime, the people of Syria can now seize an historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday. As reports continued […]<\/p>\n
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