Al-Miqdad: Human Rights Council’s politicized decisions support terrorism in Syria
GENEVA, March.1, (ST)-The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Al-Miqdad has affirmed that the western countries continue to exploit the Council of Human Rights and its mechanism to accuse certain countries of violating human rights and to use this as a pretext to intervene in their internal affairs.
He has emphasized that the real goal of the politicized decisions that target Syria is to provide cover for both the countries the practice aggression and the occupation and to support terrorism and to use it against the Syrian state.
His remarks were made during a speech he made on Tuesday via video before the 49th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“Syria believes in constructive dialogue that respects the privacy of states and societies and their cultural and civilizational diversity, and it stresses the importance of the fulfillment of the Human Rights Council’s role agreed by the member states of the United Nations when the Council was established and based on constructive dialogue in dealing with human rights as a system of interrelated and indivisible rights in all states without discrimination and technical cooperation to help countries build their capacities in accordance with their national priorities,” the minister said.
He clarified that Britain, which leads initiatives on Syria in the Human Rights Council, has spent $4 billion on disinformation campaigns targeting Syria, according to what was revealed by British media outlets.
Al-Miqdad called on the Council to consider these practices and end the work of the politicized mechanisms that it established without the approval of the concerned state, pointing out that these practices operate with a semi-open mandate in implementation of politicized and non-consensual resolutions passed in the Council based on campaigns of systematic misinformation against Syria.
“Syria has been facing a systematic terrorist war since 2011 that has been employed and used from abroad to undermine Syria’s stability, unity and territorial integrity and foreign occupation of parts of its national soil,” the minister added, stressing that under the Turkish and American occupation, terrorist groups and the separatist “Syrian Democratic Forces”” militia continue to commit grave crimes and violations of human rights to serve the interests of their operators and supporters.
A;-Miqdad referred to the practices of the Turkish regime and its implementation of the policy of Turkification and systematic demographic change in the Syrian territories it occupies, and its use of water as a weapon and tool for political blackmail and collective punishment of the people.
“These challenges caused and are still causing grave repercussions on human rights in Syria, which are repercussions that are exacerbated by the imposition of unilateral coercive measures by the United States and the European Union and the theft of natural and economic resources to deprive the Syrian people from their national wealth…The tightening and expansion of these measures, especially during the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, has led to target the Syrian citizen’s livelihood and to violate his basic rights, mainly his rights of life, health, food, education and development.. The immoral measures have turned into economic terrorism that seeks to prolong the crisis, obstruct recovery and reconstruction efforts and prevent the return of the displaced to their homeland,” he clarified.
He went on to say: “In the light of these grave challenges, the Syrian state continues to assume its responsibilities and duties to preserve national sovereignty, liberate Syrian land from foreign occupation, fight terrorist groups, preserve the security and lives of its citizens and meet their basic needs. It affirms its keenness on fulfilling its international obligations and its belief in international cooperation based on UN Charter. Recently, Syria completed the discussion of its third national report within the framework of the universal periodic review mechanism and is currently considering the recommendations addressed to it.”
Al-Miqdad expressed Syria’s regret that these efforts are still faced with positions that prioritize political agendas over humanitarian considerations and seek to create difficult living conditions for the Syrians through imposing an economic siege that prevents them from food, medicine, oil and energy resources, and imposing political conditions on the UN humanitarian agencies and obstructing their cooperation with the Syrian state, which aims to overcome the economic consequences of the crisis and move from relief to development.
He asserted that the processes of reconciliations and settlements make remarkable progress in different regions thanks to 21 amnesty decrees issued by President Bashar al-Assad since 2011, which allowed thousands of Syrians to benefit from them and return to their normal life.
The Minister in addition underscored Syria’s commitment to a political process led and owned by Syrians, with the facilitation of the United Nations and without external intervention or preconditions.
He reiterated Syria’s firm right to restore the occupied Golan and its categorical rejection of the unilateral measures adopted by the Israeli entity to perpetuate its occupation and escalate its settlement practices, which contradict UN resolutions.
The minister renewed Syria’s condemnation of the systematic violations of human rights committed by the Israeli occupation forces and settler gangs in occupied Palestine and in the occupied Syrian Golan.
Al-Miqdad concluded his speech by asserting Syria’s firm support for the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital on the line of June 4, 1967, guaranteeing the right of refugees to return in implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions, and its support for the liberation of the remaining occupied Lebanese lands.
Basma Qaddour