Sabbagh demands depoliticization of humanitarian and development work in Syria

NEW YORK, Oct.25, (ST)-Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh, has clarified that improving the humanitarian situation in Syria necessitates depoliticizing the humanitarian and development work by the Western countries and not to put obstacles in front of it.

He also asserted the need to support early recovery projects, lift coercive economic measures, end illegal foreign presence and stop supporting terrorism, separatist militias and looting national wealth.

Sabbagh’s remarks came during his statement today  in the a Security Council session on the political and humanitarian issue in Syria.

“The basic principle of all United Nations resolutions on Syria provides for respecting its sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, which is also the criterion for any approach to the political or humanitarian situation in it, “ the diplomat said.

He stressed that any illegal military presence on Syrian territory is a violation of the UN Charter and a violation of international law and must end immediately. “ Fighting terrorism in its various forms and eliminating it once and for all can only be done through full cooperation and coordination with the Syrian state.”

“Syria completely rejects the White House’s announcement on the 12th of this month to extend what they called (the national state of emergency regarding the situation in Syria), and the statement of the Turkish regime’s foreign affairs on this announcement, as they were issued by two parties that violate the UN Charter and international law through their occupation of Syrian lands and their intervention in its internal affairs, looting the capabilities of Syrian people and national wealth, and their support for separatist militias and terrorist groups. Therefore they have no right to claim that they are keen on establishing security and stability in the region,” Sabbagh added.

He went on to say: “The option of national settlements and reconciliation is an approach taken by the Syrian state with the aim of restoring normal situation to various parts of the country….. 21 general amnesty decrees were issued, the latest of which was Legislative Decree No. 7 of 2022, which reflected an advanced stage of the Syrian state’s continuous efforts to consolidate national reconciliation and sustainable stabilization…..The Syrian state is pursuing its efforts in accordance with this approach, which is effective and led to the return of many Syrians to their normal lives.”

The diplomat asserted that Syria has positively dealt with the efforts and initiatives that were presented within the framework of the political track and supported Astana talks , the latest of which was the Tehran summit and welcomed its results.

“ Syria kept in touch with  the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Syria Geir Pedersen, who visited Damascus a few days ago and met the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Al-Miqdad, who demanded that the United Nations play its role in accordance with its charter and to stop the violations resulting from the American occupation of areas in northeastern Syria, and the Turkish occupation of areas in its north and northwest, in addition to the continued Israeli occupation of the Golan and its repeated attacks on vital facilities and Syrian infrastructure, which threaten peace and security in the region, “ Sabbagh affirmed.

Concerning the humanitarian situation, the diplomat said:” Syria was one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world, and it was achieving food self-sufficiency and providing all the basic requirements of life for its people. But the terrorist war that was launched against it since 2011 changed this situation and caused a humanitarian crisis, which was exacerbated by unilateral coercive measures and the theft of Syrian national wealth.”

Sabbagh expressed Syria’s regret that the first session of the informal interactive dialogue to review and follow up the implementation of Resolution 2642 clearly showed that Western countries are still continuing their politicization approach and imposing formulas aimed at maneuvering and distorting the management of this dialogue, which kept it away from the interactive dimension

He indicated that the US occupation forces continued to loot Syria’s wealth in Al-Jazeera region, as they recently brought out hundreds of trucks loaded with oil and wheat to northern Iraq through the illegal border crossings in cooperation with the separatist “Syrian Democratic Forces” militia, stressing the necessity of ending this illegal American presence, whose practices have caused theft and illegal trade carried out by terrorist groups and the separatist SDF militia have caused great losses and destruction in the fields of oil, gas and mineral wealth since 2011, with direct and indirect losses that reached $107.1 billion until the middle of this year.

Sabbagh stressed that Syria is making great efforts to curb the outbreak of the cholera epidemic, which it got rid  of decades ago, but unfortunately this disease has returned to pose an additional threat to the lives of Syrians, as a result of the Turkish regime’s continued use of water as a weapon of war, and the great destruction of water infrastructure and the health system by the terrorist war.

He concluded by saying:”Syria cooperates in this context with UN organizations and its agencies and provides them with the necessary facilities to carry out field visits, the latest of which was a visit to the city of Ras al-Ain in al-Hasakah governorate. However, international efforts have failed due to the insistence of Western countries to practice their policies that do not care about the lives of women, children and People With Special Needs.”

Basma Qaddour