Delivered by the Permanent Representative of Estonia to the UN, H.E. Mr Sven Jürgenson
I would like to thank Special Envoy Pedersen and Ms Noura Ghazi for their briefings.
Looking at North-West Syria. We express growing concern about the recent ceasefire violations and military build-up of the Syrian army around Idlib. In order to avoid civilian casualties and another wave of mass-displacement, preventing military escalation must remain Council’s priority. Continued fighting in Idlib area might also accelerate the spread of COVID-19, as it limits the work of humanitarian aid organizations.
It is unfortunate that on the political process, we hear little new developments. We call on the parties to set a date for the meeting of the Constitutional Committee as soon as possible.
We reiterate the need to implement the Security Council resolution 2254. The plan of the Syrian regime to hold parliamentary elections in July is in clear violation of the roadmap set out in that resolution. Credible and inclusive political process must be in place before any such actions.
As described by Ms Ghazi, an important step towards national reconciliation is solving the situation of detainees in Syria. We call on the Syrian government to abide by the international human rights law and relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2139, and to release immediately all arbitrarily detained persons, particularly women and children. Forced disappearances must stop. Unfortunately, past announcements of general amnesties have not led to any significant releases of arbitrarily detained Syrians.
We remind the Syrian government and its allies that the European Union will not provide aid to Syria’s reconstruction before a genuine political process is in place. I would also like to stress that the current economic crisis in Syria is not the outcome of international sanctions, but rather a result of widespread corruption and lack of good governance. The difficult economic situation in neighbouring Lebanon also greatly affects Syria.
Finally, these points will be repeated in two weeks during the Fourth Brussels Conference to support the future of Syria, convened by the EU. We welcome an inspiring video conference on accountability for crimes committed in Syria, which the EU held within the framework of this Conference on the 8th of June in Geneva. Participants included EU member states, human rights activists, IIIM, OPCW, Commission of Inquiry and others, trying to shed light on Syrian rights violations and bring perpetrators to justice. The Security Council should also consider this kind of holistic approach to accountability.