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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
As the fighting intensified, the UN never stopped working behind the scenes to bring about a political solution that would deliver dignity, freedom and justice for the Syrian people. Here are some of the key developments where the UN has played a significant role towards a just peace in Syria....
“Syria is now at a crossroads with great opportunities for us, but also with grave risks. And we need really to look at both,” said Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria. “We know that, of course, HTS is now the dominant group in control of Damascus, but it’s important...
The historic shift of power in Syria at the weekend has added yet another layer of complexity to the Middle East crisis, with hostilities ongoing in Gaza, violence undiminished in the occupied West Bank and a fragile ceasefire underway in Lebanon. A Security Council meeting is expected on the crisis...
“We will respond wherever, whenever, however we can to support people in need, including reception centres – food, water, fuel, tents, blankets,” said Tom Fletcher, Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. The dramatic development in the Syrian capital follows a lightning advance by armed...
“The UN is strategically reducing its footprint by relocating non-critical staff outside the country… amid the evolving circumstances,” Adam Abdelmoula said in a statement issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA. At the same time, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator stressed that...
Aid has continued to flow from Türkiye across three border crossings into the embattled northwest and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that it had opened community kitchens in Aleppo and Hama – cities now reportedly occupied by HTS fighters. In neighbouring Lebanon, meanwhile, senior UN aid official Edem...