Jafaari : UNSC Admitted the Presence of Armed Terrorist Groups, Committing Crimes in Syria

NEW YORK (ST)_Syria’s  Permanent Representative to the United Nations  Dr. Bashar Jaafari said  yesterday : ” after the three  permanent members of the UN Security Council  , France, Britain and the United States blocked the  issuance of eight earlier statements , the UN Security Council SC managed today to adopt a statement on the humanitarian situation in Syria , including a clear reference to the presence of armed terrorist groups that  commit  crimes inside  the Syrian territory . “

Jafaari added in  a news conference following the issuance of the UN SC of a non  binding  statement on the humanitarian situation in Syria,that  “It’s the first time we find a clear signal in  the UNSC presidential statement to violations and acts of murder ,terrorism , sabotage and violations of the international humanitarian law and the  human rights law committed by terrorists and the armed groups  in Syria. “

“By that, the UN  Security Council perception and consciousness had elevated  to the level of responsibility,”Jafaari said  describing that  as ” a positive development in itself because we struggled over two and a half year to raise awareness of some of the  UNSC members on  this very important fact .”

Replying  a question about the possibility of some  parties  exploitation  of deploying  the  aid across the border to smuggle weapons into Syria , Jaafari said “there is a contractual agreement between the Syrian government and the UN,  represented by the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance ,” OCHA “states the need to do everything under the control of the Syrian government , according to the content of the humanitarian Response Plan and therefore anyone who violates this bears the implied results and consequences. “

Jaafari stressed Syria ‘s commitment to providing all kinds of assistance to the UN  to implement the agreed response plan to ensure the access of  humanitarian aid  to all Syrian territory under the supervision of the Syrian government , according to  the provisions of General Assembly resolution 46/ 182 , as  confirmed by the content of the  UNSC presidential statement .

For her part,  the UNSC  Under – Secretary – General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos expressed, hope that this statement will contribute to overcoming obstacles to humanitarian access to all those in need in Syria.

Noteworthy that the  UNSC non – binding presidential statement underlined strong commitment to the sovereignty of Syria and other countries affected by the crisis in Syria , its independence,  and unity and territorial integrity on line of the UN  Charter and  principles.

The UNSC ,  called in its  non-binding statement  , which was prepared by Australia and Luxembourg , all parties in Syria to ensure a better  humanitarian access of aid  and  take appropriate measures to facilitate the efforts of the UN  and its specialized  relief  activities agencies to ensure immediate access to the affected in Syria.

The Council also condemned the “increasing terrorist attacks carried out by entities associated with Al – Qaida ” and called on all parties for  ” to put an end to terrorist acts committed by these entities .”

The Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the gravest threats to international peace and security and that acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable acts,  regardless of their motivation , place and time they were committed and who committed it  .

The Council pointed out that the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate unless a political solution is reached to the crisis in Syria through the application of the statement of the International Working Group in Geneva in 2012.

The UN SC demanded in its  statement all parties to immediately  implement the  Geneva Statement aimed to put an immediate end to all acts of violence and to facilitate the start of a political process led by Syria to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and enabling them  determine their own future in an independent and democratic  way, calling for  convening the forthcoming  International Conference on  Syria to find a political solution to the crisis.

It  urged all States to respond rapidly to the  humanitarian appeals launched by the United Nations to meet the growing needs of the  Syrian people  and  ensure the fulfillment of all commitments made in this regard.

T. Fateh