Virtual briefing by Geir Pedersen, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, on the Situation in the Middle East (Syria), during the Security Council Open VTC (23 July 2020).
In his address to the Security Council today (23 Jul), the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen appealed for all Syrian warring parties “to carry out unilateral releases of detainees and abductees, and meaningful actions on missing persons – at a scale that is commensurate with the scope of this tragic issue.”
“Without addressing this issue,” Pedersen said, “true reconciliation, the healing of society’s wounds, credible justice and sustainable peace will remain elusive.”
Since his last briefing to the Council just over a month ago, the economic situation in the country has deteriorated, according to the UN Special Envoy.
“Syrians are now being hit by yet another tsunami of suffering – economic collapse,” Pedersen said.
Although the Syria’s currency has regained some of its lost value over the last month, it still remains significantly depreciated relative to last year.
“By almost any other measure we see a downward spiral: rampant inflation, rising unemployment, weakened demand, more businesses shutting down, increased food insecurity with families skipping meals, and shortages of medicine,” he said.
The coronavirus pandemic is also on the rise in Syria.
“We also now see a rise in reported cases of COVID-19, Pedersen continued, “exacerbating Syria’s economic malaise and further constraining the humanitarian response.”
As of 22 July, the Syrian Ministry of Health has confirmed 561 cases – more than double since the last report by the Special Envoy on 16 June.
“Testing remains extremely limited, particularly in areas outside government control,” Pedersen said. “And the geographical spread of the virus is increasing, penetrating more areas outside of Damascus, including the first 22 cases in north-west Syria, as well as 6 cases in the north-east.”
“Humanitarian access is ever more imperative,” said the Special Envoy echoing the UN Secretary General’s “call on all parties to the conflict to ensure humanitarian access to all people in need in accordance with international humanitarian law”.
Pedersen also said he had took note “of this Council’s decision to extend the UN cross-border mechanism in northwest Syria via the Bab al-Hawa border crossing for twelve months.”
He also reiterated the Secretary General’s appeal from earlier this year, for the waiver of sanctions that can undermine the capacity of the country to ensure access to food, essential health supplies and COVID-19 medical support to respond to the pandemic.