It was the first meeting in 2025 on the issue of Syria, which was addressed by Emergency Response Coordinator Tom Fletcher and UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen. Humanitarian Coordinator Tom Fletcher called on the Security Council to focus on three key areas in view of the current challenges:
- Support and protection for Syrian civilians in accordance with international law
- Financial resources to ensure long-term support for Syria
- Effective arrangements for assistance operations in and through Syria
UN Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher said the UN must seize this moment and opportunity to remove existing sanctions that hinder humanitarian efforts.
Sharing his experience after returning from a recent visit to Syria, he said that there are currently many challenges for UN teams and humanitarian aid workers there.
After the ongoing civil war in the country for the past 14 years, essential services need to be re-established and secured. 15 million Syrian citizens need health care and 13 million suffer from food insecurity.
He said the Syrian caretaker administration has pledged respect for international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians and the independence of humanitarian aid agencies.
Application for support
The Under-Secretary-General urged the Security Council that this assurance requires the support of Member States.
The humanitarian coordinator said that more than 620,000 Syrian civilians are still displaced by the harsh winter weather, while 7 million are already displaced.
This requires prioritizing and providing financial support to the protection of ordinary Syrian civilians. Currently only one-third of humanitarian aid applications are received.
At the same time, it must ensure that women and girls are not marginalized by those who seek to dominate power in Syria.
According to Tom Fletcher, once the country’s security situation stabilizes, it will be possible for them to resume large-scale humanitarian aid operations. In this vein, he emphasized on conducting a nationwide needs assessment by the UN team this month.
Huge opportunities, but also risks
UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen briefed the 15 member states of the Security Council and Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Syria and Turkey via video link.
He said that since the fall of the Assad government a month ago, Syria is on a path for itself and that path has huge opportunities as well as real threats.
According to the Special Envoy, law and order appears to be good in many parts of the country, but there have been several reports of violent incidents in the coastal areas and in Homs and Hama.
Geyer Pedersen said the continued violent conflict in Syria poses a real threat to the country’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
Following this, he expressed deep concern about the presence and activities of the Israeli military. In addition, the Special Envoy noted that the terrorist group ISIL is also a major concern.
Geyer Pedersen said the needs of Syrian citizens remain urgent, while there is still uncertainty about the direction of the political transition process.
He assured that the United Nations is ready to work closely with the Syrian caretaker administration for a credible and inclusive way forward.