Statement by First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy at UNSC briefing on the humanitarian and political situation in Syria
Mme.President,
We thank SESG Pedersen and USG for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths for the briefings on the political and humanitarian aspects of the situation in Syria. We also listened carefully to Ms Rasha Muhrez, civil society representative.
After a powerful earthquake hit the areas next to the Syrian-Turkish border, the whole world was shuddered by the scale of this disaster. We were united in extending condolences and expressing our solidarity with the victims. Emergency assistance was needed for both Syria and Türkiye. The EMERCOM and the Defense Ministry of Russia already dispatched more than 20 humanitarian planeloads to Syria, delivering almost a thousand tonnes of aid. Russian Reconciliation Center also provides comprehensive support to Syrians.
Related assessments of UNSC members have this one point in common: effects of the disaster that affected several provinces reduced to zero all humanitarian efforts of previous years. Taking into account an unprecedented scale of this tragedy and being guided by the humanitarian imperative, Damascus, without delays and preconditions, responded to the request of the humanitarian wing of the United Nations and consented to opening two extra checkpoints at the Turkish border for UN-facilitated humanitarian deliveries. We welcome this approach of the Syrian government.
The agreement that the UN and Damascus arrived at fully complies with the guiding principles of humanitarian assistance as set out in UNGA resolution 46/182, so it does not need to be further endorsed in a Security Council decision.
Thanks to these agreements, starting from 9 February 2023, the United Nations has been using Bab Al-Hawa as prescribed by UNSC resolution 2672, as well as two more border crossings, Bab Al-Salam and Bab Al-Rai. Besides, in the first few hours after the tragedy the Syrian authorities provided “broad exemptions” for humanitarians to work throughout the country. This also concerns dispatch of humanitarian convoys to northwestern areas that are not controlled by the government. This measure creates vast opportunities for effecting humanitarian deliveries via Syria's domestic routes, which is fully consonant with resolution 2672, and the generally accepted position in the Security Council that at this point, assistance must be delivered to those in need through all the ways possible.
However, there has been no follow-up to these steps by the Syrian authorities. In the two weeks that have passed since the tragedy, due to activities of terrorists from Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, no cross-line humanitarian convoys could be dispatched. Though, in light of the situation on the ground, logistical opportunities and transportation infrastructure, humanitarian deliveries from Damascus stand in high demand in northwestern Syria.
At the very least, this is rather perplexing. It is the same militants in Idlib who sometimes may accept humanitarian assistance and sometimes block it off. Unfortunately, when doing so they in fact have backup from some delegations in the Council, who very softly “express concern” and do not let the Council give a fair assessment to the actions of terrorists.
If we add to this the abundant evidence confirming that HTS militants openly appropriate humanitarian aid that arrives in the enclave via the cross-border mechanism to resell it to the local population; and also the fact that they establish control over volunteer humanitarian centers in the Idlib de-escalation zone and expropriate the money that they receive, the overall image that the Security Council will see will be very unflattering.
Basically, our Western colleagues are trying to make us “cover up” for this corrupt scheme that UN-listed terrorists profiteer from. Apparently militants cannot reap as much (if anything at all) of government-facilitated cross-line deliveries, which is why they are not interested in those, and also why the interest of Western capitals is low too.
Colleagues, when acting in this manner, you not only appear in a very unseemly light, but also undermine the future of the CBM, which makes sense only as an element to temporarily supplement domestic Syrian deliveries. If the deliveries from Damascus, which are legitimate in all respects, are deterred deliberately, we see no point in preserving the CBM, because such deliveries violate sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.
Mme.President,
In parallel to providing urgent assistance to the people of Syria, close attention must be paid to recovery of the devastated areas, residential, social, and utility infrastructure. For this purpose, unbiased support of the global community is required. By UN estimates, back in 2017 250 billion USDs were potentially required to ensure complete Syrian recovery. Taking into account the pace of financing Syria’s humanitarian response plan in the years that followed, we can definitely say that the donor community is not delivering or not willing to deliver on this goal.
Frankly speaking, we are struck by the cynicism of some members of the Security Council who try to reproach us for allegedly doing nothing to help Syrian recovery because we do not act via UN channels. Colleagues, we already provided you with statistical data regarding our bilateral efforts in this area. However you purposefully ignore the fact that Russia’s overall assistance to Syria exceeds your allocations several-fold. We do not want to act via UN mechanisms mostly because to us, those channels lack transparency despite all our relevant request, which makes it impossible to access very basic data regarding current projects.
In general, your attempts to present us as some kind of "freeloaders" in the implementation of early recovery projects look unworthy of respectful international players. Besides, the people of Syria know perfectly well who is helping them and to what extent.
What our Western colleagues can really boast about is their efforts to conserve Syrians in refugee camps in neighboring countries for political reasons; as well as their suffocating sanctions, which place a heavy burden on ordinary Syrians. We call on Security Council membership to be careful with assessments to humanitarian exemptions from sanctions regimes. Such exemptions are not a generous gesture and by far not a cure-all remedy for the numerous misfortunes that sanctions have and continue to inflict on Syrians. Humanitarian exemptions are not a step to commend specifically, but rather a required minimum of what American and European authorities can and have to do in current circumstances. Of course, the question of a complete lifting of unilateral sanctions does not go anywhere. On the contrary, it assumes even more relevance. In particular, the issue of sanctions was highlighted in a thematic review of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in the context of the February earthquake and its consequences. We also look forward to a report of the UN country team in Syria on the impact of sanctions that was first announced in January.
The Secretariat repeatedly advised that problems with the work of humanitarians on the ground occurring due to “overcompliance” remain. Because of the American “Caesar Act”, even the United Nations cannot ensure a humanitarian delivery of Russian fertilizers that are stuck in EU ports to Damascus. We underscore that we have no access to those fertilizers and that in terms of the aforementioned anti-Syrian sanctions regime, fertilizers are considered dual-purpose goods, which minimizes chances that it may be dispatched. Taking into account the fact that a famine is about to break out in Syria and that its farmlands are occupied by the United States, we expect Washington, if really committed to humanitarian values, to take the required steps that should enable the UN to carry out this humanitarian (and I emphasize this) operation. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort has happened so far.
We once again call on the Secretariat to not silence down the problems arising from the negative impact of anti-Syrian sanctions and particularly to ensure that a batch of our fertilizers is dispatched.
On a separate note, we demand that the Secretary-General revoke his scandalous guidelines “Parameters and Principles of UN Assistance in Syria”, which serves as a pretext for Western donors. In fact, it legitimizes their political approaches about about the inexpediency of financing infrastructure recovery projects in territories controlled by the legitimate Syrian authorities.
Mme.President,
Speaking of the military-political track of the Syrian settlement, we must admit that the existing problems on the ground, such as illicit foreign military presence and remaining hotbeds of terrorism, were supplemented by a new challenge, namely a threat of a possible military operation in northern Syria, as well as activation of all sorts of armed groups, caused i.a. by a release of captured ISIL fighters.
Against this backdrop, Israel continues to take arbitrary forceful action on a regular basis. On 19 February, Israeli air force launched another series of strikes against the Syrian territory. Several targets in Damascus and its suburbs were attacked. One of the missiles hit a residential building in a dense urban area, killing 5 people and injuring further 15. A fragment of another missile that was intercepted by Syrian air defense landed only 300 meters away from the premises of the Russian Embassy in Damascus.
We strongly condemn Israel's use of force that constitutes a gross violation of international law. We call on the Israeli side to stop armed provocations against the Syrian Arab Republic and keep from steps that may be fraught with dangerous consequences for the entire region. We proceed from the assumption that this vicious practice must not continue, especially in the circumstances when many countries including Russia are actively helping Syrians to overcome consequences of a devastating earthquake by sending to Syria search and rescue teams, medics, and humanitarian cargoes.
We remind again that in order to achieve a lasting stabilization and security both in and out of Syria, its territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as control of the entire national territory by Damascus need to be fully restored. These are the principles that are fundamental for the agreements of the Astana Format (Russia, Türkiye, and Iran) regarding Idlib and cross-Euphrates area. Together with our partners, we will keep promoting a reliable and lasting normalization in Syria and the region.
Mme.President,
We consistently advocate for a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process to be carried out under UN support, without external interference and with respect for sovereignty, integrity, and independence of the SAR.
As part of this approach, we hosted a substantive exchange of opinions with the Special Envoy in Moscow on 27 February. At the consultations, we reiterated the need to implement UNSC resolution 2254 which envisages support for an inter-Syrian dialogue, i.a. in the framework of the Constitutional Committee. In this regard, we would like to underscore that efforts of SESG Pedersen, who seeks to depoliticize the Geneva platform, ensure that the Committee resumes its sessions, and maintain regular contacts with the Syrians stand in high demand. It is essential to focus on these tasks without getting distracted by other initiatives, the added value of which still is not obvious to us.
Thank you.
