Statement at the UNSC Briefing on Syria - Political
Statement
14 September 2022Thank you President and thank you Deputy Special Envoy Rochdi and USG Griffiths for your briefings today.
I also wish to thank our civil society briefer Mazen Darwish for your valuable perspective.
I will focus on the political situation in my intervention, as my Norwegian colleague has spoken on behalf of Ireland on humanitarian issues.
President,
Ireland supports the Special Envoy’s efforts to de-escalate, both in the North and across Syria. Any military escalation would only add further to the horrors endured by the Syrian people.
However, the appalling loss of human life, including of children’s lives, continues.
In 2021 alone nearly 900 children lost their lives or were injured. This brings the total number of children killed and injured since 2011 to almost 13,000.
Ireland also supports the Special Envoy on restoring momentum to the political process. We renew our calls for the full implementation of Resolution 2254 of this Council. We call on Damascus to engage fully and meaningfully in the Constitutional Committee.
Ireland endorses the ongoing engagement with the Women’s Advisory Board, and with civil society. Any new Constitution and related political process must be fully inclusive. It must benefit from the full, equal and meaningful engagement of women.
Ireland is open to step-for-step confidence building measures, provided Damascus engages meaningfully.
President, Ireland welcomes the Secretary-General’s study on missing people in Syria. We echo his message of appreciation to the victims, their families, and civil society, for their valuable input. We believe that the proposed mechanism, and support to the families of the missing, can provide some answers on the fate of their loved ones.
Ireland calls on Damascus to be much more transparent on the release of arbitrarily detained people, in particular on the implementation of the Amnesty Decree announced last April.
Thank you.