UNSC Briefing/Consultations on Syria (Political)

[Tuesday, 28 September 2021]

India Statement

By

Mr. Srinivas Gotru, Joint Secretary (UNES)

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Madam President, I join others in thanking Special Envoy Geir O. Pedersen for his comprehensive briefing today. I also thank Ms. Rouba Mhaissen, the civil society briefer for her insights.

2. Last few weeks have seen developments of interest on the Syria political track. Special Envoy Pedersen has visited Damascus earlier this month, first time since February. The important countries having influence on Syria have also held discussions informally. There have been high-level engagements between Syria and the Russian Federation. We heard from Special Envoy details of these engagements today.

3. The constitutional committee was set up nearly two years back and process of drafting the constitution needs to begin. The efforts of last two years have made it clear that the external influence remains the major impeding factor hampering the progress on the political track. We call on all external actors to desist from adversely influencing the parties concerned. We hope these ongoing efforts will re-energize the political track and help in convening of the sixth meeting of the small body of the constitutional committee. All three sides need to engage constructively with the Special Envoy on his ‘bridging proposals’. The process has to remain a Syrian led and Syrian driven process, and facilitated by the UN.

4. On the security front, the ceasefire agreement in Da’raa is a welcome development. However, we remain concerned with the over-all situation in Syria, including in the North-East and the North-West. As mentioned in the recent Secretary General’s report, military activity and hostilities have increased in recent months, seriously affecting the civilian population. We believe that a nation-wide comprehensive ceasefire is paramount to the interest of the Syrian people; and will help to ensure that positive developments like the first crossline humanitarian aid operation from Aleppo to Idlib can take firm roots and not remain a ‘one-off’ occurrence.

5. We have been referring to the involvement of external actors in Syria and its impact on the growth of terrorism in both Syria and in the region. The designated terrorist groups such as ISIL and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham have continued to gain in strength in Syria and their activities have been mentioned in Secretary General’s recent reports. ISIL has continued to launch attacks in areas across Dayr al-Zawr, Hasakah and eastern rural Homs. ISIL has also targeted energy infrastructure in some instances. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham continues to have a dominating influence in Idlib. The latest report of UNITAD also referred to the repeated deployments of chemical weapons by ISIL against civilian populations between 2014 and 2016. This is a cause for serious concern and needs to be fully recognized and acted upon, given that the core area of operations of ISIL include Syria as well.

6. The long-term security and stability in West Asia can only be achieved by preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. We remain convinced that there can be no military solution to the Syrian conflict and reaffirm our commitment to advancing a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned UN-facilitated political process in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

7. India has extended developmental assistance and human resource development support to Syria through grants,  lines of credits for developmental projects, supply of medicine and food, artificial limb fitment camps and capacity building training programs. India has always had the diplomatic engagement with Syria since the beginning of the conflict, including at the high levels. Our External Affairs Minister held bilateral discussions with Foreign Minister of Syria earlier this week on the margins of 76^th UNGA. We reiterate our steadfast commitment to continue to render all possible support and assistance to the people of Syria.

I thank you Mr. President.

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