YouSaid · the spoken record

Ja’afari

lines on the record: 139
first: 2020-01-09
most recent: 2020-10-05
sittings or episodes: 10
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“The Syrian Arab Army and its allies managed to exact a defeat on the terrorist groups in Idlib and their paymasters, thereby returning a sense of safety and jubilation to millions of Syrians in Aleppo thanks to the delivery of their city from the onslaught of wrath and terrorism. We have relaunched operations at the Aleppo international airport with the first flight in eight years. There is no doubt that the work of the Syrian Government and its allies in countering terrorism in Idlib is but a constitutional and national task. It is also a precise implementation of Security Council resolutions.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“Mueller — failed, in his briefing to the Council on 19 February (see S/PV.8727), to mention that the two humanitarian workers of the British humanitarian organization Oxfam were Wissam Hazim and Adel Al-Halabi, who were martyred a few days ago as they pursued their humanitarian work in the Dara’a province. We again pay our heartfelt condolences to their families and colleagues. These two men were Syrian citizens killed in cold blood by armed terrorist groups that consistently impede humanitarian work, the efforts of the Syrian Government and its partners, to deliver humanitarian aid to the people who need it. These groups are but terrorist organizations that Mr. Lowcock continues to depict as non-State armed opposition or non-State actors, whereas they are considered by others to be jihadist organizations.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“The representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was very right in her political analysis, notwithstanding the geographical distance between her country and mine, and the fact that her country does not have an embassy in Damascus. I invite other Council members to objectively follow her example and her logical analysis. We are not accusing Mr. Lowcock falsely. Let me mention in this regard a simple example of the very misleading approach of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, namely, that the Under- Secretary-General — and today Ms.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“He said — and, by the way, this is very important for the President of the Council and his country — that maybe those attacks were launched by the Belgian Air Force. The fourth noteworthy position finds its locus in Under-Secretary-General Lowcock, who has styled himself as the propagandist of misleading films and whose only aim is to undermine the Government of my country, in violation of the requirements of his mandate, taking advantage of the self-imposed isolation of some who have shut down their embassies in Damascus or the geographical distance of others or the sometimes inadequate knowledge of the external interventionist roles that have had such catastrophic consequences on our region for decades.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“This approach will eventually undermine the role of the Security Council, whose purpose is to maintain international peace and security. This position was aired in public during the meeting that was held on 6 February (see S/PV.8715). The second noteworthy position concerns a statement by the Permanent Representative of the Israeli occupying Power, when he said that it was necessary to physically get rid of the Palestinian President, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, as a sine qua non of what he calls peace, which is a flagrant threat of liquidation of the President of the State of Palestine, made within the precinct of the Council Chamber. The third noteworthy position is represented by the response of the Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu, to a question related to the attacks launched by his air force against my country, Syria, on 14 February.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“However, those groups were eradicated by the Syrian Arab Republic. This most recent Turkish crime is therefore similar to those crimes that were perpetrated by armed terrorist gangs in Damascus in 2012, when they dumped diesel oil into the Ayn al-Fijah spring, the main source of potable water to Damascus, with a population of 8 million people. We just wanted the Council to keep this matter in mind. Four noteworthy positions are discernible under this month’s Belgian presidency of the Security Council, the first of which is the endeavour by certain Member States to transform the Security Council into a NATO platform for supporting the Turkish aggression and for levelling threats against my country, in violation of the provisions of the Charter.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“Mr. Ja’afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): Let me start my statement with a piece of information that I suppose is worthy of the attention of all the participants in today’s meeting, especially Ms. Mueller and Ms. Fore. The day before yesterday, the authorities of the Turkish occupation cut off the potable water supply for Al-Hasakah city and the surrounding villages supplied by a plant called Alouk, knowing full well that this plant is the sole source of potable water for Al-Hasakah, which is a city located in north-eastern Syria — and not north-western Syria. Al-Hasakah and the surrounding area are populated by 600,000 people, all of whom are civilians, mostly women and children. That crime is similar to the crimes perpetrated by terrorist groups in the suburbs of Damascus in 2012, supported by Turkey and Qatar.”
2020-02-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8734 (2020) · source
“As we talk about peace and justice, we call on the Council to seriously consider an extremely dangerous issue, namely, the attempt by some members of the Council to use the Council as a media platform for military coalitions, such as NATO, and for the purpose of levelling threats of using military force against States Members of the United Nations from the rostrum of the Security Council, which deals with maintaining international peace and security.”
2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723Resumption1 (2020) · source
“We call on all members to adopt balanced policies in which principles are matched by action. We call on the Council to convene a meeting on holding accountable those Governments with direct or indirect responsibility for the flow of thousands of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) into my country, Syria, from more than 100 States that are members of this international organization, which promotes the peace and security of nations. All member States of the European Union are among those 100 States. We call on those same Governments to shoulder their responsibilities in taking back the FTFs who hold their nationalities. They have wreaked havoc and left a trail of killings and destruction in my country and in Iraq and Libya.”
2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723Resumption1 (2020) · source
“The General Assembly has even ignored the fact that its mandate, as provided in Articles 10, 11, 12 and 22 of the Charter, does not give it the right or authority to establish any investigative body, legislative body or a mechanism such as this one. Let me remind the Council that my country — the country concerned — did not request any technical assistance from the United Nations to establish that entity. I will conclude my remarks on the so-called IIIM by saying that, in my country, there are long-standing national legal and judicial bodies that are willing and able to achieve justice and provide accountability and reparations without the flagrant interference that seeks to achieve distorted justice and reprisals rather than a genuine transitional justice.”
2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723Resumption1 (2020) · source
“With regard to the misleading remarks of some representatives about the so-called International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011 (IIIM), we reiterate, through legal evidence, that the so-called IIIM has been and will remain a stark example of a breach of the Charter of the United Nations, working methods and rules of procedure. The General Assembly has encroached on the mandate of the Security Council, violated Article 12 of the Charter and adopted resolution 71/248, in which it established the so-called IIIM despite its full knowledge that the Security Council is the sole organ responsible for addressing the situation in my country, Syria.”
2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723Resumption1 (2020) · source
“We reject the policy of hypocrisy and double standards practised by the Governments of Member States that are negatively interfering in the political process in Syria and are trying to hamper genuine political reconciliation and impose an economic blockade against the Syrian people, thereby undermining reconstruction and recovery in my country. Those are all part and parcel of the provisions of resolution 2282 (2016). The practices of those Governments in the framework of the United Nations are dangerously underpinned by an unethical principle — the end justifies the means.”
2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723Resumption1 (2020) · source
“The same Governments are trying to introduce divisive concepts that will negatively affect the future of the Organization and its status, entrench differences and generate discord and hostility in inter-State relations. The Syrian Arab Republic, along with a considerable number of Member States, warns against a historic turning point, whereby those Governments could use United Nations legal mechanisms as a tool to apply political pressure on some States by linking the principles of justice with divisive concepts such as universal jurisdiction and the responsibility to protect.”
2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723Resumption1 (2020) · source
“The resolution stresses the primary responsibility of Governments and national authorities in determining the priorities, strategies and implementation activities required to maintain peace. However, the practical realities of today are in stark contrast to those guiding principles. Some Governments with political, economic and military influence habitually misinterpret and violate to an unprecedented extent the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and its working methods and procedure. in an attempt to impose a unilateral view on United Nations frameworks and take them in a direction that would help those Governments interfere in the affairs of other States.”
2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723Resumption1 (2020) · source
“Mr. Ja’afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): At the outset, my delegation stresses that justice was and will always remain the cornerstone on which the founding fathers based the United Nations 75 years ago with a view to achieving the welfare, well- being and peace of the nations of the world, without discrimination or selectivity. In that regard, allow me to recall the provisions of resolution 2282 (2016) underpinning this meeting’s concept note (S/2020/98, annex). That resolution reiterates that maintaining peace is both an objective and a process towards building a common social vision, including through efforts to prevent conflict and its escalation, continuation or relapse; address its root causes; achieve national reconciliation; and move towards recovery, reconstruction and development.”
2020-02-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8723Resumption1 (2020) · source
“When terrorists bombard Aleppo, that is acceptable, but when the Syrian Army bombards Idlib to eliminate the terrorists who are bombarding Aleppo, it is impermissible. In any case, we opened three humanitarian corridors over two months ago to allow our civilian nationals to leave Idlib for safe areas under the control of the Syrian Government. The Syrian Red Crescent and our Russian allies are on the ground at these three humanitarian corridors to observe what is taking place. But terrorists and terrorist groups in Idlib have not allowed civilians to leave and have killed anyone who tried to do so. They have killed dozens of our people trying to leave Idlib. At your request, Mr. President, I do not want to prolong this discussion. As I said, however, if you and others want to hear answers to the questions raised, I am ready to do so.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Mr. Ja’afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): In recent years, the Syrian Government and its allies have declared 17 truces, which are something like ceasefires — 17 times and every time, just hours after the truce has been declared, it has been violated by the militants upon the instructions of their handlers, be they from Ankara, Doha or elsewhere. Therefore, I raised the question based on our experience following 17 truces — meaning ceasefires — all of which were violated by the cannibals from the other side, who were bombarding Aleppo on a daily basis, killing dozens of civilians. No one in the Security Council called for an emergency meeting to discuss the bombardment of Aleppo by terrorists.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Idlib is Syrian territory, and any illegitimate military presence there is the responsibility of the State to which those troops belong. Some have called for the need to declare an immediate cease fire. With whom does the Council want us to declare a ceasefire? With the entities that the Council agreed to designate as terrorist groups, such as Jabhat Al-Nusra and Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham? With whom does the Council want us to declare a ceasefire? With hundreds of cannibals that the Council has listed as terrorists? How can we declare ceasefire with entities that the Council agreed to name as terrorist —”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Therefore, we reiterate that improving the living and humanitarian conditions in Syria and achieving a political solution require, first and foremost, aggressive Western States to reconsider their policies, adopt approaches based on international law and the provisions of the Charter, put an end to aggression, occupation, coercion and investment in terrorism and respect the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. It also requires that they support the efforts of the Syrian State and those of its allies in combating terrorism, which is a right and duty that we will spare no effort to fulfil in order to liberate Idlib and all other parts of Syria, just as we liberated Homs, eastern Aleppo and Ghouta.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“The story we have presented today on the positions of certain Council members might be fiction, but it is legitimate fiction because it is underpinned by our belief in the provisions of the Charter and international law, while their practices and realities lead to undermining the Charter and manipulating the principles of international law. Western Governments were clear in their quest to destroy my country and spread creative chaos, pillage our wealth and settle their old accounts with us. They clearly pointed out the tools they would use to achieve that goal. The memoirs of the politicians of those States and the WikiLeaks scandals are brimming with arguments proving our point.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Do those present not remember Erdoğan’s announcement on 5 September 2012 that he, along with allegiant terrorist organizations, would soon pray in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus? Was that announcement, eight years ago, not an indication of prior aggressive intention and a declaration of war against my country? If people said that they would occupy Turkey and pray in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, or that they would occupy one of the NATO capitals and pray in its most prominent places of worship, what would NATO’s response be?”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Everyone heard the intervention by my colleague the Permanent Representative of the United States, when she said that Turkey is a NATO ally. Hence we are not in the Security Council. Somebody is trying to use this Council as a NATO forum. It is an unacceptable threat to say in this Chamber that the United States of America protects Turkey from the repercussions of its violations of the Charter and principles of international law. My delegation reiterates that attempts by certain countries to impose the NATO agenda on the Security Council will undermine its credibility and negate all the pretexts used by some to demonize the Syrian State and provide political and military cover for the crimes committed against my country by NATO members, including the Turkish regime.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Some colleagues boasted about that today. I also thank the Secretariat staff for their close review and follow-up of all 900 official letters that we addressed to them regarding the so-called crisis in Syria. Forgive me for thinking that I was in the Security Council, which, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, we entrusted with maintaining international peace and security, rather than being in a council that the Governments of some permanent members have turned into a NATO forum with the aim of inciting against my country, discredit it and exercise all kinds of pressure on the Syrian State, including by hysterically calling for repeated meetings on the situation there and requesting the Secretariat to provide countless reports and briefings to serve their interventionist and aggressive goals.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“I disclose that information so that the Council can assess it. We thank the delegations that called for this meeting for striving to unify the Council with a view to ensuring that its resolutions on combating terrorism — of which there are dozens — are implemented and to supporting the efforts of the Syrian State and its allies to combat terrorism and foreign terrorists fighters, cleanse our territory of their evil and compel the Member States concerned, especially those in Europe, to take back their nationals without delay. We furthermore thank them for their unwavering commitment to international law and United Nations resolutions, as well as for their humanitarian concern for the Syrian people, as demonstrated by their rejection of the unilateral coercive measures that would constitute economic terrorism and collective punishment.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“The latest such attack was launched at dawn today from above the occupied Syrian Golan and coincided — as a result of Israeli-Turkish alliance and high-level coordination between them — with more Turkish troops and heavy military equipment entering into Idlib through the so-called humanitarian crossing of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The aim is to undermine the efforts of the Syrian State and its allies to end terrorist control over Idlib and normalize life there. To the President and members of the Security Council, I would like to say that a few hours ago Jabhat Al-Nusra — a Security Council-designated terrorist group — and the Turkish troops occupying part of my country met at Taftanaz airport, near Aleppo. Together they took part in an offensive in the area of Al-Nayrab, in Aleppo.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“We also thank the States that called for convening this meeting for condemning the illegitimate presence of their troops in parts of Syrian territory and for relentlessly demanding their tripartite occupation to withdraw its forces, for disbanding their agent militias and for compensating for the devastation they caused to the infrastructure, along with compensating for what they and their agent militias and terrorist groups have pillaged in oil, gas, wheat, artefacts and myriad possessions that belong to Syrians. We thank the delegations that called for this meeting for exercising pressure and engage in active diplomacy in order to adopt a draft resolution under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations to condemn Israeli attacks against my country.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“We also thank those delegations who called for holding this meeting for their eagerness to enable the Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities in a professional and credible manner by condemning the United States occupation of parts of my country’s territory, including the area of Al-Tanf, where Rukban camp is located, and by condemning the United States occupation forces for sponsoring Maghawir Al-Thawra, a terrorist organization that is operating in that area whose crimes are not limited to the population of Rukban camp but have reached peaceful civilians in the governorate of As-Suwayda, as I explained to the Council in a previous statement.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“We thank them as well for compelling the Turkish regime to stop bringing its new janissary Ottoman militias, made up of Uighurs, Uzbeks, Turks, Chechens, Turkmens, Kazakhs, Tajiks, Kyrgyz and Arabs, to settle on Syrian territories adjacent to Turkey once the Syrian population is displaced, and to prevent the Turkish regime from carrying out a demographic change reminiscent of Israeli crimes against Palestinians. We sincerely thank those same delegations for standing up against the operations of the Turkish regime to transfer thousands of “moderate terrorists”, who are genetically modified but also armed, and mercenaries to Libya and then to Europe, Africa and other places.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“At the outset, I thank the delegations of the States that called for this emergency meeting for their strong commitment in their briefings today to the provisions of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, as demonstrated in their firm condemnation of the aggression, occupation, pillaging and theft being perpetrated by the Turkish regime against my country. We also thank the same delegations for their initiatives and steps to uphold the values of the Charter and international law by compelling the Turkish regime to stop supporting terrorism.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Those organizations are therefore trying to find alternative ways to transfer the funds. However, such transfers — whether in euros or dollars —are being blocked by intermediary banks in Europe and New York, which directly affects those humanitarian organizations and their ability to plan other humanitarian projects and programmes for the year. That is an example of the true situation in my country concerning actions taken against Western, international, European and American non-governmental organizations. No one, however, sees or wants to see this situation. It is as if they were addicted to a unilateral version of the situation that they want to see. But, in the Security Council, it is not advised to watch the overall version.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Mr. Ja’afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): Some colleagues raised important questions in their statements, and I am ready to answer them after I read out my own statement, should the presidency allow me to do so. For eight years, we have been telling the Security Council that there is a raging elephant distorting the political and humanitarian situation with a view to offend, defame and demonize my country’s Government in anticipation of another future escalation. Today, I have received information from my capital that certain non-governmental humanitarian organizations operating on the ground in Syria, including the Danish Refugee Council and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, among others, are having trouble transferring money allocated for humanitarian activities in Syria. The problem began in July 2019.”
2020-02-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8715 (2020) · source
“Would they just watch them with their arms folded and provide them with humanitarian assistance while calling them ‘moderate armed opposition?” I leave it to delegations to answer those questions. Our message is a message of peace, based on strength not weakness. We strongly believe in the principle of the sovereign equality of States — a principle that was enshrined by the founding fathers of our Organization and on which we rely on in our policies. We also say to all those who entertain repeating what was done in our region after the First and Second World Wars that their plans will not succeed. They will fail by virtue of the will of the Syrian people. The meeting rose at 4.40 p.m.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“In the near future, with the collusion of the Turkish regime, they will also call them the “moderate armed Libyan opposition”, which will also be genetically modified. Surviving foreign terrorist fighters will be called “moderate armed opposition” of a third or fourth country — because their masters invest in terrorism. They will progressively continue in that manner in other countries in Africa, such as Mali, Nigeria, the Niger and Kenya, as well as countries of the Sahel and others, in order to spread destruction and the displacement and exodus of their peoples. Secondly, I once again ask delegations the question I posed before: What would Council members’ Governments do if they saw a terrorist organization occupying a certain region in their country, target civilians and fire rockets?”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“My Government reiterates that it has remained very patient — as patient as Job. We have chosen political solutions and given them ample time. We have always dealt seriously with every initiative calling for calm, including through the Astana and Sochi processes, as we are committed to safeguarding the Syrian people and ending the pain and bloodshed throughout the country. Before concluding, I will underscore two points. First, Idlib and the surrounding areas are Syrian territories that currently are under the control of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which is the Syrian branch of Al-Qaida, and its affiliated terrorist groups. It counts among its ranks tens of thousands of foreign terrorist fighters. Some are trying to genetically modify them by calling them the “moderate armed Syrian opposition”.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“Einstein conveyed the same idea when he said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” We have reiterated that the full restoration of security and stability in my country requires addressing the challenges related to terrorism and stopping the wasting of the Council’s time, efforts and budget with fabricated issues — like determining the gender of angels, demons and everything in between. Some colleagues try to promote fabricated accusations to obstruct us in our war against terrorism and boost the morale of armed terrorist organizations that are overrunning Idlib and Aleppo under the leadership of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Jabhat Al-Nusra — meaning Al-Qaida, Da’esh and other terrorist groups of different names and loyalties.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“They try to convince us with arguments that lack wisdom and law, while demonstrating their superiority and near-sighted policies that result only in destruction and ruin our countries and peoples. They try to justify themselves and project their anger on others. In the words of Jean-Paul Sartre, “Hell is other people”. The absolute reality that cannot be denied is that the accumulated old and new big sins of some have brought our region and peoples bitter disasters, bloody conflicts, instability and lack of development. We have assured the Council many times that we cannot base our actions on false pretexts and expect good outcomes. That is a philosophy thousands of year old.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“Should Council members doubt me, I would ask them to read the proposals for themselves. That is the United States policy. Council members waste their time here, while the United States takes unilateral measures the way it likes. In circumstances such as these, how can we trust United States policy related to any matter concerning the maintenance of international peace and security? We will leave it to Council members to answer that question. Nine bitter years have elapsed. Some Council members and others have insisted on using internationally prohibited weapons of massive lies to sow instability in our countries and the Middle East region, rather than reflecting on their own actions and positions and reforming their policies. What is even worse is that some are convinced of their actions and positions.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“The surreal scene in Washington, D.C., yesterday was that of a unilateral action and an act of aggression against the United Nations itself — one of unparalleled contempt for the relevant United Nations resolutions on the Palestinian question and the occupied Syrian Golan. In 2003, President George Bush announced the road map for peace. At the time, the United States proposal contained 2,218 words. He said that the proposal had been inspired by the Holy Spirit. Following the visit of Mr. Netanyahu yesterday, President Donald Trump launched a road map for peace and prosperity. It contains 49,402 words. Neither the Bush nor the Trump proposal makes any mention of international law — or of human rights, international humanitarian law or the United Nations. Neither proposal included any of those words.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“Yesterday we saw a pathetic attempt by the current United States Administration to present a new colonial project in our region, thereby repeating the same major crime committed by Britain over 100 years ago with the fateful Balfour Declaration, which served Israel and its aggressive expansionist schemes. It did so in spite of Syrian, Palestinian and Arab rights and interests and in flagrant violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and its benchmark resolutions, especially resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 497 (1981) and 2334 (2016), all of which stress the need to end the Israeli occupation of the occupied Arab territories, including the occupied Syrian Golan, a withdrawal to 4 June 1967 borders and ceasing illegitimate settlement activity, which hampers the peace process. Those are Council’s resolutions.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“Both sides have stressed the importance of upholding the rules of procedure of the Constitutional Committee so as to ensure independent Syrian decisions without any external interference from any party. Nine long years have elapsed, during which four successive Special Envoys of the Secretary-General have tried to find the magic formula to resolve the so-called Syrian crisis. Unfortunately, they were not successful in their noble task because some in the Council and beyond prioritize the rule of force rather than the rule of law, disregarding the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law and good-neighbourly relations. All of that has been at the expense of Syria’s stability, its regional role and at the cost of its people’s blood.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“The Syrian Government, in cooperation with WHO and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society, will distribute the assistance to hospitals, health clinics and civilians in need. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs met with Special Envoy Geir Pedersen in Damascus this morning to discuss the political process in Syria and the importance of making every effort possible to achieve the desired progress and ensure the success of that process, which serves the interests of the Syrian people. The outcome of the process should be Syrian-led, while emphasizing respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“Mr. Ja’afari (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic): Let me begin my second speech of the day with an important observation following our deliberations this morning concerning the humanitarian situation (see S/PV.8707). My country’s Government sent an official communication a while ago to the Regional Director of the Eastern Mediterranean Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) informing him that the Syrian Government had authorized a WHO convoy of medical assistance and medicine that had been waiting in Iraq to promptly enter the Syrian territories through the Al-Qaim/Abu Kamal crossing at the Syrian-Iraqi border, which is under control of the Syrian State, so as to avoid the expiration of its products.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8708 (2020) · source
“My country stresses that it is of the utmost importance to immediately and unconditionally lift all coercive measures and end once and for all the policies of economic punishment adopted by the Governments of some Member States, as they are inconsistent with international law, international humanitarian law and international human rights law. I assure the Council that, despite the pressure on the Syrian people, we will not relinquish our sovereignty or allow anyone to prevent us from making our own decisions. The meeting rose at 11.55 a.m.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“If they were honest, they would not have refused to respond to our calls to provide assistance to the 40 towns and cities in Idlib and surrounding areas that were liberated from terrorism this month. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were liberated from terrorism, but OCHA has never provided humanitarian aid to them. In conclusion, my country underscores that we will build on the great achievements we made in cooperation with several United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and 38 foreign non-governmental organizations authorized to work in Syria, including five French organizations, three American organizations, five British organizations, four German organizations, three Russian organizations and others from Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria and Finland.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“As the saying goes, do not go around fire expecting not to sweat. Whoever makes that mistake must suffer the consequences. OCHA has not reported on many effects of coercive measures. Some in the Council might deem that issue to be a secondary one, merely as collateral damage. That is how the liars refer to it: collateral damage. It is a lovely phrase. However, such matters affect all the Syrian people, and are therefore a top priority for us and for anyone who respects the principles of international law and international humanitarian law. I assure the Council that we have no problem with OCHA as an institution. We have a problem with those controlling OCHA, who replace the humanitarian agenda of the United Nations with that based on the views of their countries.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“Has it not reviewed the reports issued by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia confirming the considerable adverse effects of coercive measures on humanitarian deliveries in Syria? Has OCHA not heard what Mr. Idriss Jazairy, Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, said about the adverse effects of such measures on the enjoyment of human rights. He said, “[s]uch coercive unilateral measures exacerbate the humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people. It is hard to believe that they are there to protect Syrians”. Should OCHA not remove its head from the sand and describe the situation as it is? What I am talking about is humanitarian criticism about the humanitarian situation in Syria. I said all of that because OCHA reports to the Council must be in line with its noble mission. However, that is not the case.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“OCHA has not mentioned the fate of the tens of thousands of Syrians who drowned in the Mediterranean at the hands of Turkish human traffickers. Nine difficult years have passed and not once have we heard OCHA asking Germany, for instance, to allow Siemens, a German company, to supply the necessary spare parts for the power plant in Jandar, which was built by Germany decades ago. It is a purely humanitarian matter borne out of a basic need for hospitals and schools and to assist Syrian civilians. What is the point of those reports and meetings it they are unable to provide spare parts for a power plant? Has OCHA not heard the complaints of United Nations offices and international organizations operating in Syria about the effects of coercive measures on humanitarian operations?”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“It is as though that crossing specializes in imports of surgical threads. Those are the lies we have heard today. In the dozens of reports and hundreds of briefings, OCHA has not once mentioned people with special needs, who are affected by coercive measures. They are unable to receive artificial limbs or electric wheelchairs. In the dozens of reports and hundreds of briefings, OCHA has not mentioned the Syrians unable to import materials to meet their basic needs, such as food and medication, as a result of the sanctions imposed on the banking sector, which makes it impossible to conduct financial transactions. OCHA has not mentioned the plight of Syrians abroad, who cannot access consular services in several countries or transfer even a small amount of money to help their families in Syria.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“In dozens of reports and hundreds of briefings, OCHA has not reported on those who lost their lives in operating rooms because of a ban on the import of surgical thread, the anti-clotting medication used during surgeries, and basic medical equipment such as MRI and X-ray machines and others. Nevertheless, Mr. Lowcock today deemed that the closure of Al-Yarubiyah crossing, which, by the way, is under the control of the United States of America, is what is preventing us from importing surgical thread. He also spoke of 400 different types of drugs and supplies, including surgical thread. There is therefore no other crossing that can be used to import surgical threads except the Al-Yarubiyah crossing. Is that really true? Only through Al-Yarubiyah are we able to import surgical thread?”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source
“It is as if they, a major Power, had never heard of something called the responsibility of an occupying Power under international humanitarian law. The occupying Power is supposed to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians living in the area under occupation. In any case, after dozens of reports and hundreds of briefings, OCHA has not reported on the newborns who have lost their lives as a result of the power cuts to incubators in some health centres and hospitals. It has not reported on other newborns who survived but were killed by coercive measures that prevented them from receiving milk and other basic nutrients. OCHA has not reported on mothers who are educating their children by candlelight.”
2020-01-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8707 (2020) · source