76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
UN Security Council meeting on Syria political
Delivered by Ambassador Sven Jürgenson
September 28, New York
I thank Special Envoy Pedersen and Ms. Mhaissen for their thorough briefings.
At least half a million people have lost their lives during the decade long Syrian conflict. Despite current relative calm, military operations continue in many parts of the country. Achieving nationwide ceasefire and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access remains a priority.
In addition to violence, economic worries further hamper the livelihoods of Syrian people. I thank Ms. Mhaissen for her insightful comments, which helped to shed light on these compounding challenges. The problems stem from two main areas:
First, the economic difficulties of the broader region, especially in neighbouring Lebanon, greatly affect Syria; while targeted international sanctions play a minimal role, as also noted by the Syrian regime in several occasions.
Second, the economic crisis is a result of internal factors. Widespread corruption, warlordism, and lack of good governance hinder any potential positive developments on recovery.
The lack of meaningful steps towards a credible solution is also reflected in the wider political process. Constitutional Committee has been dormant. However we welcome the upcoming sixth round of talks in Geneva. We appreciate Special Envoy’s efforts in mediating the differing views.
Finally, without justice for victims, there will not be any real peace in Syria. Today´s testimony of Ms. Mhaissen confirms this. The Security Council needs to act decisively against the widespread and systematic violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Syria. Estonia and the EU call on the creation of an international mechanism to locate missing people or their remains.
There are already multiple initiatives, which have collected, systemized, and preserved evidence on these crimes since the very beginnings of the conflict. Investigative mechanisms, such as the IIIM of the General Assembly, Commission of Inquiry of the Human Rights Council, Fact Finding Missions of OPCW, can all be used to improve accountability.
Lasting and credible political solution, in line with the Security Council resolution 2254, can only be reached, when we end impunity once and for all.
