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UN Security Council Calls for Syrian-led Political Process

17 December 2024, US, New York: A view of the Security Council during a meeting. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
17 December 2024, US, New York: A view of the Security Council during a meeting. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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UN Security Council Calls for Syrian-led Political Process

17 December 2024, US, New York: A view of the Security Council during a meeting. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
17 December 2024, US, New York: A view of the Security Council during a meeting. Photo: Bianca Otero/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

The UN Security Council has issued its first statement on Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad's government, calling for a Syrian-led political process leading to elections, and urging all nations to respect the country’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.

The council said Syrians should “peacefully, independently and democratically determine their own futures” based on key principles in a 2015 council resolution that sets out a roadmap to peace calling for a new constitution and UN-monitored elections. It said the process should be facilitated by the United Nations and backed efforts being taken by UN envoy Geir Pedersen.

The statement released Tuesday night makes no mention of the Dec. 8 ouster of Assad by opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

The Security Council reiterated support for the UN peacekeeping force known as UNDOF monitoring the Israel-Syria border following the 1973 Mideast war. It stressed the obligation of all parties to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement that established a demilitarized buffer zone between the countries to abide by its terms and reduce tensions.

The council statement, approved by all 15 members, underscored the importance of combatting terrorism in Syria and preventing ISIS from re-establishing its stronghold in the country.

The Security Council also reiterated Syria’s obligation to respect human rights and international humanitarian law. This includes the right to seek justice and allow and facilitate humanitarian access to millions in need, the statement said.

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UN Envoy to Syria Warns Conflict Not Over

Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Envoy to Syria Warns Conflict Not Over

Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Geir Pedersen, UN Special envoy to Syria, visits Sednaya prison which was known as a slaughterhouse under Syria's Bashar al-Assad rule, after fighters of the ruling Syrian body ousted Bashar al-Assad, in Sednaya, Syria December 16, 2024. (Reuters)

Syria's conflict "has not ended" even after the departure of former president Bashar al-Assad, the UN's envoy to the country warned Tuesday, highlighting clashes between Turkish-backed and Kurdish groups in the north.

Geir Pedersen, the UN's special envoy for Syria, also called at the Security Council for Israel to "cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan" and said an end to sanctions would be key to assisting Syria.

"There have been significant hostilities in the last two weeks, before a ceasefire was brokered... A five-day ceasefire has now expired and I am seriously concerned about reports of military escalation," he said.

"Such an escalation could be catastrophic."

Pedersen also said he had met with Syria's new de facto leadership following the opposition’s lightning takeover, and toured Sednaya prison's "dungeons" and "torture and execution chambers," operated under Assad's government.

He called for "broad support" for Syria and an end to sanctions to allow for reconstruction of the war-ravaged country.

"Concrete movement on an inclusive political transition will be key in ensuring Syria receives the economic support it needs," Pedersen said.

- 'Attacks on Syria's sovereignty' -

"There is a clear international willingness to engage. The needs are immense and could only be addressed with broad support, including a smooth end to sanctions, appropriate action on designations, too, and full reconstruction."

Western countries are wrestling with their approach to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the takeover of Damascus, and has roots in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.

It has largely been designated in the West as a "terrorist" group, despite moderating its rhetoric.

Pedersen noted Israel had conducted more than 350 strikes on Syria following the departure of the former regime, including a major strike on Tartous.

"Such attacks place a battered civilian population at further risk and undermine the prospects of an orderly political transition," he said.

The envoy warned against plans announced by Israel's cabinet to expand settlements inside the Golan, occupied by Israel since 1967 and annexed in 1981.

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a security briefing atop a strategic Syrian peak inside the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights that Israel seized this month.

"Israel must cease all settlement activity in the occupied Syrian Golan, which are illegal. Attacks on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity must stop," said Pedersen.