Ambassador Ala: Increasing international support for early recovery and reconstruction programs in Syria necessary to secure the return of the displaced
Cairo (ST) – Syria’s Permanent Representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Hossam Eddin Ala, has stressed the need to strengthen international support for humanitarian programs, as well as early recovery and reconstruction programs in Syria without selectivity or politicization.
He stressed the necessity of lifting the Western coercive economic measures imposed on the Syrian people, as they are responsible for the economic difficulties that prevent the return of Syrian migrants and displaced people.
In a statement before the second regional review conference of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in the Arab Region in Wednesday, Ala stated: “This conference is being held in extremely sensitive and delicate circumstances that our region and the world are going through. Confronting the escalating waves of displacement, asylum, and migration that the world has witnessed over the course of decades requires addressing the root factors leading to them.”
“The terrorist war imposed on Syria since 2011, along with Western coercive measures, undermined the development gains that had been achieved, which negatively affected the economic conditions in Syria and pushed large numbers of Syrians to migrate and seek refuge in other countries”, he added.
Ala indicated that the return of Syrian immigrants and displaced persons to their homeland and their contribution to reconstruction represents a fundamental goal for Syria, which has made great efforts in this field.
Ambassador Ala indicated that an agreement had been reached between Syria and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on a working paper that was announced during the work of the 74th session of the Executive Committee of the Commission.
He noted that the measures taken in this field include facilitating the access of Syrian citizens residing abroad to all official documents, ratifying the civil and academic documents granted to them abroad, and simplifying the regulations and procedures related to housing, land, and property.
Ambassador Ala stated that the Israeli occupation has been and continues to be the main cause of the Palestinian refugee issue since 1948, and the obstacle that prevent them exercise their right to return in implementation of Resolution 194 and other relevant resolutions adopted by the United Nations.
He affirmed that the systematic forced displacement of Palestinians constitutes the most prominent goals that the occupying entity seeks to achieve in the genocidal war it has been waging for nine months against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, as this war caused the displacement of two million Palestinians within the Strip, pushing them into forced displacement across the border.
Ambassador Ala stressed that creating and organizing safe regular migration routes is of great importance to address the human suffering resulting from irregular migration, which threatens the lives of increasing numbers of people and turns them into victims of human trafficking gangs.
Ambassador Ala expressed Syria’s aspiration that the second regional review conference of the Global Compact for Safe and Orderly Migration will come up with some results and recommendations that would contribute to adopting sustainable solutions to problems related to displacement and migration in the Arab region.
Najla Khoury