Summary:
-
The Security Council passed Resolution 2254, which lays out a timeline for the Syrian peace process, seven years ago.
-
“In order to combat the epidemic, the UN has a three-month plan.
-
To help five million people with water, sanitation, and hygiene needs and 162,000 people with health services, $34.4 million is needed.
-
According to Ms. Ghelani, the number of persons who require winterization assistance has skyrocketed by 30% nationwide this year compared to last.
-
She added that a winterization response plan is currently “grossly underfunded” and that funding for the sector of shelter and non-food goods is currently at only 10%.Ms.
In addition to the nation’s worst economic crisis since the war started, a lethal cholera outbreak is also currently spreading quickly.
During his recent “busy period of diplomatic engagement,” Mr. Pedersen talked with important Syrian and international parties, especially about the stalled Geneva Constitutional Committee sessions.
Much work remains
From the Swiss city, he said that this way of doing politics was the only way to make peace last.
We are still a long way from reaching this goal, and tough diplomatic and local realities make it hard to make progress toward a full solution. The status quo, however, should not be acceptable, and there are alternatives.
The Security Council passed Resolution 2254, which lays out a timeline for the Syrian peace process, seven years ago.
Threat from ISIL endures
According to Mr. Pedersen, the political process has not yet benefited the Syrian people, and fighting is still “extremely active” throughout the nation.
He gave other instances, citing ISIL as a particularly dangerous menace.
In the northeast, one of the biggest weapons caches found since the government fell shows that the insurgents are still able to launch attacks.
Pro-government airstrikes were also reported in parts of northwest Syria, where none had been reported for a while.
In the northeast, there have been reports of drone strikes, shelling, and fights between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Turkey and armed opposition groups on one side and the Syrian Democratic Forces on the other.
Building stakeholder confidence
The Special Envoy talked about his many meetings with the president of the opposition Syrian National Council and Syria’s foreign minister over the past few weeks (SNC).
He also met with top officials from Arab countries, the United States, Germany, and other European countries, as well as the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia, and Turkey, as well as their counterparts from Egypt and Jordan.
Mr. Pedersen said that he is urging all sides to take “step-by-step confidence-building measures” so that Resolution 2254 can move forward.
The important Syrian and international parties need to regain their faith in the feasibility of collaboration in Syria; the other side’s willingness and capacity to deliver; and the ability to isolate Syria from other conflicts. He emphasised that only practical actions can help to develop that confidence.
He said that negotiations still need to move forward, even though some countries have already found “specific areas for possible steps.”
Constitutional Committee of Syria
The Syrian Constitutional Committee, which consists of representatives from the government, the opposition, and civil society, is still trying to meet again. The UN ambassador is working to remove hurdles to its meeting.
Since Russia expressed reservations about the location, government nominees have not visited Geneva.
Since then, Mr. Pedersen has spoken with Syria, Russia, Switzerland, and the SNC about the issue.
Even if meetings start up again in Geneva, he said, “this would not be enough to restore the Committee’s credibility in the eyes of most Syrians and outside stakeholders.”
“That’s why I’m trying to work with the parties and the co-chairs so that, when meetings resume, there is the political will to participate in a spirit of compromise, with a faster speed, better working methods, and more substance,” the co-chairs said.
Continued arbitrary detentions
The issue of detained, disappeared, and missing persons is still being followed up on by the Special Envoy and his staff.
He remarked, “Unfortunately, we continue to hear tales of arbitrary arrests happening all around the nation.”
There is nothing new to report six months after the presidential amnesty order. Despite our ongoing efforts, neither official information nor independent monitoring has been made possible.
Honouring Syrian women
At the start of his briefing, Mr. Pedersen thanked the many Syrians inside and outside of the country who continued to talk to his office.
He also thanked Syrian women and said that many of them had been able to work together despite their differences, even though they had been wronged many times during the war.
He said that they show the hope that a political deal will lead to real peace and let Syrian women take their rightful, hard-won places in society.
No shock in the “tragedy” of cholera
The Council was also told that Syrian communities are fighting to stay alive even though security, public health, and the economy are getting worse.
A director at the UN’s OCHA office for humanitarian affairs, Reena Ghelani, gave an update on the cholera outbreak.
At least 80 deaths have been linked to the water-borne illness, and more than 20,000 probable cases have been confirmed.
She said, “This is a tragedy, but it shouldn’t be a surprise.”
“Millions of Syrians lack reliable access to enough and safe water, and more than a decade of fighting has wreaked havoc on the health system.”
The water situation getting worse
The spread is made worse by things like not enough rain in many places, severe drought-like conditions, and broken water infrastructure.
According to Ms. Ghelani, the UN and its allies have been raising the alarm about the water problem in northern Syria for at least the past year.
She forewarned that “the problem is likely to get substantially worse.” “From now until December, the forecast points to a higher chance of temperatures above normal and less rain than usual.”
The UN has a three-month plan to combat the epidemic. $34.4 million is needed to help five million people with water, sanitation, and hygiene needs and 162,000 people with health services.
Underfunded winter strategy
Aid workers are also getting ready for what is expected to be another harsh winter in Syria, with snowstorms, temperatures below freezing, rain, and flooding.
According to Ms. Ghelani, the number of people who require winterization assistance has skyrocketed by 30% nationwide this year compared to last.
To meet their most basic requirements, around two million people in the northwest rely on winter help. In camps with little to no access to heating, power, water, or sewage disposal, the majority of residents are women and children.
She also said that a plan to help people get ready for winter is “grossly underfunded” and that funding for shelter and non-food goods is only at 10% right now.
Ms. Ghelani emphasised that “people would not receive the heating, fuel, blankets, and winter clothing that they critically need to keep warm” if “this gap is not closed.”
Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network
