Discurso do Representante Permanente, Embaixador Sérgio França Danese, em reunião do Conselho de Segurança sobre a Situação no Oriente Médio (Situação Política e Humanitária na Síria) - 30 de outubro de 2023 (texto em inglês)

Statement by the Permanent Representative, Ambassador Sérgio França Danese, on the situation in the Middle East (Humanitarian Situation in Syria)
October 30th, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

I thank Mr. Pedersen and Ms. Wosornu for their comprehensive briefings and commend their work. I welcome the delegations of Iran, Syria and Türkiye to this meeting.

We the members of the Security Council hold this meeting at a moment of a dangerous escalation of violence in Syria and in the region. Indeed, the recent developments in Syria are cause for grave concern. On 5 October, we learned with distress of the terrorist attack on a graduation ceremony at the military academy in Homs, which left more than 100 dead, including civilians, among which many children. Brazil  express its condolences to the relatives and friends of the victims and reiterates its firm repudiation of any acts of terrorism or attacks to the civilian population. The situation in northern Syria has deteriorated even more. In the country’s north-west, there have been reports of air strikes in Idlib, with civilian casualties and great damage to civilian infrastructure, as well as attacks by the Security Council-listed terrorist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham. In the north-east there have been worrisome reports of violence, which included strikes affecting civilian infrastructure.

Since the begining of the hostilities between Israel and Hamas, Syria has been affected by the conflict on more than one occasion. Strikes on the Aleppo and Damascus airports have disrupted United Nations Humanitarian Air Service flights more than once. Some days ago, strikes on facilities in eastern Syria were reported. Sadly, as these events point out, the situation in Syria remains very much volatile, with dire consequences for the civilian population. The risk of a regional spillover of the Israel-Hamas conflict is real and a ground for deep concern.

In this context of growing instability, we renew our appeal to all sides to exercise maximum restraint. We recall that Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected, in accordance with international law and this Council's relevant resolutions. We also recall that all sides must comply with their obligations under international law and ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. We have repeatedly stated that there can be no military solution to the Syrian conflict. In the light of the unfolding humanitarian crisis and the deteriorating security conditions in Syria, an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed. The Syrian people cannot afford further losses or additional damage to critical infrastructure.

At the same time, renewed political will is essential to resume a credible intra-Syrian political process, especially with the reconvening of the Constitutional Committee. In this spirit, we encourage all the parties to work towards the resumption of the United Nations-facilitated political process. We concur with the Special Envoy that the status quo in Syria is unsustainable and that without a meaningful political path to implement resolution 2254 (2015), we risk further deterioration of the situation in the country. It would have detrimental effects for the region, especially in the current volatile context. Diplomacy and true political will must be given a true chance.

Thank you.