Mr. President,
We welcome the convening of this annual open debate which sheds light on the suffering of innocent people and gives an outlook for the future. In over a year, the spread of COVID-19 has further worsened the already dire conditions and exacerbated the vulnerability of the least protected people.
It is more than urgent that the global ceasefire appeal by the Secretary-General is implemented for the protection of civilians in the most pressing settings throughout the world. As a leading country in the humanitarian field, Türkiye continues to do its part to alleviate human suffering.
Mr. President,
In Syria, our efforts focus on preventing a new humanitarian tragedy along our borders. The ceasefire reached between Türkiye and the Russian Federation on March 5th 2020 in the Idlib de-escalation area has contributed to the implementation efforts of the global ceasefire appeal by the Secretary-General and allowed the return of 500.000 IDPs to their homes. Preserving the ceasefire in Idlib is a sine qua non for the protection of millions of vulnerable civilians living under dire conditions.
Unfortunately, the Syrian regime pursues its military campaign against Syrian people. The heinous attack on Atarib hospital last March claimed many innocent lives and added new pains and limitations regarding the access of the local population to healthcare services. ln Syria, every four days a health facility was attacked last year, majority of which occurred in the northwest.
3 million IDPs living in the region are in acute need of humanitarian assistance and depend on the aid channeled from Türkiye. The UN cross-border mechanism continues to be the only instrument to deliver assistance, including medical items and in particular the COVID-19 vaccines to the most vulnerable. There is an urgent need to sustain UN cross-border operations with additional crossing points.
Türkiye will continue to support and strengthen the resilience of Syrian people through her own means and by facilitating the cross-border humanitarian operations. As part of efforts to restore life in northern Syria and recover infrastructure targeted by the Syrian regime and terrorist organization PKK/YPG, Türkiye repaired hospitals in Jarablus, Azaz, Afrin, Al Bab, Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain, established a mobile health center in Afrin and constructed a hospital in Jinderes.
Mr. President,
In line with one of the objectives of this session, that is to address the root causes of conflicts, the topic of handling and approaching the armed terrorist organizations deserve our due attention. Terrorist organization PKK/YPG is actively engaged in a wide range of abuses and usurpations in the wider region.
The Secretary-General reports that Syria is among the countries where the highest numbers of IEDs are recorded. PKK/YPG is responsible for the majority of these attacks.
In northeast Syria, electricity disruptions by PKK/YPG affecting the proper functioning of Alouk water station continue to be at alarming levels since November 2019. This results in severely restrained water supply to half a million people living in the region.
In Iraq, PKK is using its presence in northern parts of the country to organize terrorist attacks against Türkiye. It is well-reported that the terrorist organization does not only control a chunk of land in northern Iraq, but also prevents the Iraqi authorities from providing even basic services to the locals in these areas.
In such cases, UN and the international community should seek a balance between the fight against terrorism and engagement, for the protection of civilians, with the local non-state actors. Needless to mention that these non-state actors neither can be in possession of arms nor can be considered as a legitimate party due to their de-facto armed status.
From the perspective of elimination of root causes of human suffering, our collective action should be based on empowering and assisting legitimate administrations in their simultaneous efforts to combat terrorism, as well as protection of civilians.
Another component of our efforts should be to institute accountability.
In Libya, we witness the widespread use of violence by militias against civilians, including but not limited to inhumane treatment, torture, arbitrary detention and murder of detainees.
Discovery of mass graves in Tarhouna has been a stark reminder of crimes committed by Haftar and its associated militias. Last week, the ICC Prosecutor briefed this Council about atrocities by the so-called Libyan National Army, including grave violations perpetrated in Mitiga prison, handing of death penalty by military courts in eastern Libya following secret trials and the killing of human rights lawyer, Ms. Al Barassi. All criminals should be brought to justice.
Mr. President,
The most vulnerable groups continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts.
In Afghanistan, UNAMA documented that 30% of the civilian casualties last year were children. The level of violence in the country has unfortunately reached peak levels, which shows that the risk of new waves of mass migration has been increasing.
In light of the ongoing withdrawal of the US and NATO forces from Afghanistan, it is imperative that the international community maintains effective and consistent support to the government, institutions and people of Afghanistan. It is also paramount to keep alive the perspective of a negotiated settlement. To support and reinvigorate the intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha, Türkiye is ready to host a high-level Conference in Istanbul together with Qatar and the UN with the participation of the Afghan Government and the Taliban.
Mr. President,
The Security Council formally recognized in 1999 that the protection of civilians in armed conflict is a matter of international peace and security. After more than 20 years that provided enough space to create necessary tools to enhance this agenda, the Council should display a unified position by upholding its responsibilities in order to ease suffering around the world.
Thank you.