Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at an open VTC of UNSC members on the humanitarian situation in Syria
Mme. President,
We thank M.Lowcock for the briefing and presenting his views on the humanitarian situation in Syria. We also thank Ms. Sonia Khush for her briefing. We would like to welcome the newly arrived Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN – Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh.
Unfortunately, in his briefing the Humanitarian Coordinator did not address all factors affecting the humanitarian situation in Syria. In particular, when speaking of reasons for economic deterioration, we did not hear him refer to the illegal unilateral restrictions imposed by our Western colleagues, whereas it is surely those restrictions that do not let the Syrian economy “heal up” despite all efforts of the authorities. In the first place, this affects ordinary Syrians who urgently need access to adequate social service in the area of healthcare and education, recovery of the war-devastated civil infrastructure. Humanitarian assistance that is coming to the country can neither solve this problem nor bring the life in Syria back to normal. Humanitarian exemptions also do not work, which is confirmed by humanitarian agencies on the ground. Not once have we spoken about the conclusions of UN Special Rapporteur on the impact of sanctions on the enjoyment of human rights A.Douhan. Her findings provided the basis for collective letters addressed to President Biden and Prime Minister Johnson that contained a request to lift anti-Syrian sanctions. The letters were sent at the end of January this year, having collected over 90 signatures. Among the signatories were representatives of academia and clergy, journalists, humanitarian workers, but apart from them also former Ambassadors of the UK, Germany, Tunisia, and France to Syria, as well as an incumbent member of Great Britain’s House of Lords. Regarding sanctions, the letter says that there is “a growing consensus in the humanitarian aid and human rights communities that this form of collective punishment of the civilian population is driving Syria into an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.
Due to sanctions’ indirect influence, Damascus cannot make exchange transactions that are needed to ensure that the economy works, and make purchases at foreign markets – commodities, construction materials, to say nothing of medications and medical equipment that are so much needed amidst a pandemic. We hope that UN OCHA is aware of that.
Mme. President,
The Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) has endorsed the two bids for supplying anti-COVID vaccines to Syria. One of the applications was submitted by the Government. We are sure that Damascus will dispatch a portion of the vaccines to the uncontrolled territories in the northeast, as was the case with medical deliveries last year. Starting from May 2020, 6 ground convoys with medications have been sent to the Euphrates region upon consent of Damascus, further 13 shipments have been delivered to Qamishli by air. Over 90 % of these deliveries were sent to territories out of governmental control, to the medical facilities (which are more than 100 in number) that had previously been provided for through “Al-Yarubiyah” border crossing.
At the Security Council, we have never heard our Western partners welcome these efforts by Damascus. Neither have we heard words condemning terrorists, who control Idlib and have prevented a UN/SARC/ICRC humanitarian convoy from entering the enclave for almost a year by now. Even though, as per UN estimates, Idlib has the largest in Syria share of starving people, whereof every third one is a child, food prices there are higher than the country’s average by 26 %.
It is high time that we asked a question – what is going on in Idlib? Against an all-time high level of deliveries through the crossborder mechanism (CBM), why does the northwest of Syria has one of the highest starvation rates? Where does all this assistance on which donors spend millions go to? It is common knowledge that terrorists in Idlib get increasingly wealthier. At the same time, we have never heard (and are not likely to hear) donor states request the United Nations to give account of the results of its work. It appears that Idlib is the place where the CBM shows its “false bottom”. There is little doubt that to preserve the CBM would mean to preserve financial support for terrorists who feed off extortion money and smuggle returns. In such circumstances, ordinary Syrians have to get by with crumbs from the plunderers’ table, having no opportunity to make a living by themselves and ensure at least remotely decent future for their children.
Therefore, when it comes to delivering vaccines from GAVI stocks that UN office in Gaziantep has arranged, we would be interested to learn how equitable the distribution of vaccines is going to be in the northwest? The Permanent Representative of France and Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States suggested that we should exert pressure on the Syrian authorities to have vaccination start in Syria – as if Damascus was against it. In this regard, we cannot bypass the issue of sanctions that can put serious obstacles to Damascus trying to arrange vaccine deliveries to the government-controlled areas and ensure its subsequent storage. What logistics companies will risk getting into the grinding machine of sanctions? How is the government supposed to restore uninterrupted electric power supply to ensure i.a. that refrigerator equipment for vaccine storage works 24/7, if the required equipment and spare parts cannot be purchased abroad?
Mme. President,
Our reservations about the US occupying Syria’s northeast and appropriating its oil resources are still in place. Deliberate general neglect of this toxic episode casts a shadow on the authority of our SC partners, and also raises a question of Syria’s territorial integrity which is envisaged in UNSC resolution 2254.
It was the Russian military who cleared a corridor for humanitarian deliveries to Hasakeh. And the US occupying forces, the champions of “humanism”, what have they done?
Mme. President,
To conclude, we must say in all seriousness that if we were to decide on the CBM renewal tomorrow, we are afraid we would be having no compelling reasons to keep it. All those interested in extending the mechanism should understand that there is little time left, but a lot of things to do until July. Half-measures will not work: it is vital not only to give a start to domestic Syrian deliveries of humanitarian assistance to Idlib, but also to ensure that they are done on a regular basis.
Mme. President,
At this point, I would like to get back to answers to our questions provided by M.Lowcock. Before doing this, I must say that we were surprised to hear our US colleague asserting that we allegedly prevented a briefer from participating in this VTC. We have nothing against this briefer, but we thought that it would be enough to have just one representative of the civil society. The briefer that we proposed for this meeting would have been much more relevant. Let me remind that not long ago our colleagues (American colleagues among them) prevented the briefers that we proposed from appearing in front of the Council.
In his replies, M.Lowcock partially answered the questions that we had submitted in advance. There were four of them. Here is what he left unanswered. Are there any obstacles for carrying out the work in Syria that would fall within nexus “development – humanitarian action”. If yes, than where do they come from? What needs to be done to overcome them? And the last question that we heard no answer to: what is the difference between Inter-Agency Task Force for Syria and a UN country team? What is the composition and the functions of the Task Force?
Thank you.
