Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, Geir Pedersen expressed grave concern over the mounting violence and its cascading impact on Syria, which has been embroiled in civil conflict – later drawing in outside forces – since 2011. He highlighted an attack earlier in the day on a vehicle at...
After over a decade of brutal fighting, the Commission Chair, Paulo Pinheiro, said that deadly dynamics are causing new waves of hostilities. “The recent direct fighting in northeast Syria around Deir-ez-Zor between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the one hand and Arab tribes, Government forces and Iran-backed militia...
Briefing ambassadors at the Security Council, Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, noted that though there have been some diplomatic breakthroughs none led to tangible changes on the ground for civilians. He also raised the alarm over the impact on the region of the devastating Israel-Palestine crisis. On top...
Najat Rochdi, UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, told ambassadors at the Security Council that Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus airport this weekend, following several other airstrikes and artillery fire on locations across the country, reportedly killing one civilian airport worker. She added that the airstrikes coincided with reports of rocket...
That’s the message from the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz, who said on Monday that perpetrators are mostly, but not exclusively, partners or ex-partners, and often escape accountability “due to a lack of proper investigation”. A 2022 report from the UN Office on Drugs...
In its latest report, the UN Human Rights Council (OHCHR) body found that attacks on civilians, escalating fighting, economic decline and human rights violations persist, despite the country’s re-admission to the League of Arab States. The continued war in Syria is a “monument to the failure of diplomacy” said Inquiry...
For the next six months, the Bab al-Hawa border crossing will be accessible and allow much-needed assistance to reach millions of people in northwest Syria. Bab al-Hawa has been used since 2014, when the UN Security Council authorized cross-border relief deliveries “across conflict lines”. Around 85 per cent of aid...
“I hope they will soon, because if not, it will be another missed opportunity to help the Syrian conflict to come to a negotiated end, at a time when the impact of the crisis is deepening,” Geir Pedersen said, briefing the Security Council. While there had been positive humanitarian gestures...
The “relief chief” was speaking to journalists at UN Headquarters in New York just as these two separate lifesaving initiatives are set to expire in the coming days. He also voiced concern over gender-based violence in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and noted lack of...
“It is vital that the recent diplomatic moves are matched with real action,” said Geir Pedersen, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, briefing the Security Council on recent political and humanitarian developments. A range of diplomatic initiatives have quickened the pace towards finding solutions on, among other things, continuing...
“We are at a potentially important juncture, with renewed attention on Syria – particularly from the region – that could assist our efforts in advancing a political solution to this conflict”, he said. “But for this renewed attention to help unlock progress, many actors will need to take concrete steps...
“The focus of the mission was to enhance the capacity of the early warning alert and response network (EWARN) and ensure rapid detection, verification and response to communicable diseases alerts and outbreaks”, the WHO office for the Eastern Mediterranean said in a statement issued on Thursday. They identified areas in preparedness and...