Syria Archives - Page 3 of 7

Syria: Rights investigators call for protection of evidence, including mass grave sites

·December 21, 2024·2 min read

A team from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Syria visited former prisons and detention centres, including the notorious Sednaya and the Military Intelligence Branch 235 prisons. It is the first time the team has been able to access Syria, as the former regime denied all previous requests...

Syria transition may fail if support lifeline is delayed, says IOM chief

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·December 21, 2024·3 min read

“We are not promoting large-scale returns; the communities frankly are just not ready to absorb the people who are displaced and would come home…it will overwhelm the country,” said Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “Many have returned to find their find their homes reduced...

Reconstruction and vital repairs underway in Syria, as ‘security conditions’ permit

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·December 20, 2024·2 min read

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the daily briefing on Thursday that bakeries in Aleppo are at near full capacity – “but partners report that they have seen long queues and crowding.” The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reports that the rehabilitation of key facilities has begun in the northwest of Syria...

Syria: UN envoy concludes talks in Damascus, citing hope for democratic future

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·December 19, 2024·3 min read

“It’s early days,” Geir Pedersen said referring to the dramatic events of less than two weeks ago that ended decades of dictatorship. “But I think it is important to say that there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria.” He emphasised...

Syria crisis: ‘Key priority’ is preserving evidence of crimes, say UN investigators

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·December 17, 2024·1 min read

The historic shift of power in Syria and the possibility of finally accessing evidence of horrific human rights violations could bring accountability closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved – a top UN investigator said on Tuesday....

Middle East crisis: Live updates from Gaza, Syria and Security Council

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·December 17, 2024·1 min read

Senior UN officials have been meeting representatives of the new caretaker government in Damascus, following the end of the Assad regime. Later today, the Security Council in New York will hear updates from the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, and the UN’s emergency relief chief, Tom Fletcher. Meanwhile in...

The de facto authority in Syria is a designated terrorist group: What happens now?

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·December 16, 2024·4 min read

However, according to a core Security Council resolution on Syria adopted at the height of the civil conflict, HTS is regarded as a terrorist group. Resolution 2254, which was adopted unanimously by the Council in 2015, calls on Member States “to prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed specifically by” HTS’s...

UN envoy calls for increased aid for Syria in Damascus visit

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·December 15, 2024·1 min read

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, arrived there a week after President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTC). Responding to questions from the press upon his arrival, Mr. Pedersen noted the “immense” change since the fall of the...

UN Special Envoy continues shuttle diplomacy on Syria

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·December 14, 2024·2 min read

Geir Pedersen is due to confer with Arab foreign ministers, the Foreign Minister of Türkiye, US Secretary of State and other senior officials who will be present at a meeting in Aqaba, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing reporters in New York. Mr. Pedersen has held “numerous phone consultations”, including...

Syria: UN chief calls for urgent de-escalation by Israeli forces, withdrawal from Golan buffer zone

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·December 13, 2024·1 min read

In a note to correspondents issued on Thursday, António Guterres said he was “deeply concerned by the recent and extensive violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Airstrikes, incursions Since the de facto authorities of the HTS armed group took control of Damascus on Sunday, Israeli forces reportedly took over...

Syria: Prioritise search for the missing, justice for victims

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·December 12, 2024·4 min read

Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen is engaging with all parties who have a stake in the political future of the country “on the way forward” towards a peaceful and Syrian-led transition, the UN chief António Guterres said on Wednesday. The Secretary-General stressed there were clear “signs of hope” for the...

Guterres upholds UN commitment to a smooth and inclusive transition in Syria

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·December 12, 2024·2 min read

Mr. Guterres was speaking on Wednesday to reporters in Pretoria, South Africa, where he met with Government officials in connection with the country’s presidency of the G20 group of industrial nations. ‘Signs of hope’ “As we speak, we are witnessing the reshaping of the Middle East, with the changes in...