Madam President,

I would like to thank Under Secretary-General Griffiths for his briefing. I also thank Amany Qaddour for her insightful statement.

This month, we welcomed in Türkiye UN high-level officials who observed firsthand the impact of a decade long war in Syria.

They met with Syrians who fled the brutal war waged against innocent civilians. They also saw the dire conditions of those living under constant threat and fear across our borders with Syria.

Both USG Griffiths and High Commissioner Grandi highlighted the need to keep Syria high on our collective agenda and strengthen our response to this ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Türkiye continues to facilitate UN’s work towards this objective, while hosting the largest refugee population and shouldering all humanitarian and security consequences of the Syrian conflict.

Madam President,

Throughout Syria, the UN and its partners strive to address a record level of needs under difficult circumstances.

Humanitarian agencies report that the northwest is at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, where the fragile health system operates at its maximum capacity.

At the same time, escalation of violence by the Assad regime continues to increasingly result in civilian casualties and significant displacements since the ceasefire in Idlib.

The heinous attack in Idlib against Turkish Armed Forces on 11 September resulted in the death of two Turkish soldiers, injuring three others. We thank our friends and allies who have extended messages of condolences. We will continue our efforts to keep the Idlib ceasefire.

Under these conditions, the UN cross-border mechanism remains the only tool for the 4 million people stuck in the northwest. They desperately need this assistance for the very basic needs, including medical material and vaccinations.

Several times at this Council, many of us underlined the urgency of maintaining cross-border operations in order to prevent the spillover effect of COVID-19 in the region. Largest shipment to the northwest from Türkiye with 350.000 doses took place at the beginning of this month. We aim to increase delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in the coming weeks. It is clear that the absence of the mechanism at this critical time would be devastating.

Madam President,

We all applauded the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2585 last July. Millions of vulnerable people in the northwest will continue to benefit from cross-border aid at least for another year.

Two months following its adoption, important progress is already made regarding cross-line access into the northwest, despite all the difficulties to conduct such an operation.

Between August 30th and September 1st, 14 WFP trucks comprising of 600 tonnes of food items made all the journey from Aleppo to Sarmada/Idlib. This operation required thorough risk assessment and negotiations with different actors. It also proved the veracity of our concerns in relation to the safety of cross-line assistance in the region.

Let me remind you once again that Resolution 2585 covers the entire country and requests progress on cross-line access throughout Syria. In that regard, I will repeat our call to conduct cross-line operations into the northeast, including Rasul-ain and Tel Abyad, where needs are severe but no aid has been delivered until now. We expect to see equal attention paid to the most vulnerable, both in northwest, northeast and southwest in Daraa that require our immediate consideration.

Madam President,

There will be no sustainable peace without accountability.

Year after year, Syrians have continued to confront gross violations and abuses at the hands of the Assad regime and terrorist organizations.

Countless people are deprived of their liberty in Syria, with those waiting for news from their disappeared and missing family members.

Atrocities committed by terrorist organization PKK/YPG and its Syria offshoot the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces vary from bomb attacks on hospitals, schools to recruitment of children and assassinations or kidnappings.

Their war crimes and crimes against humanity test our conscience every day.

Independent mechanisms such as the Commission of Inquiry and the IIIM have a vital role in ensuring that impunity does not take root in a post-conflict Syria.

The latest report of the Commission of Inquiry reveals a bleak picture of the situation in Syria, documenting torture and sexual violence in detention, custodial deaths and enforced disappearances. We should closely follow up on its recommendations and speed up efforts to ensure accountability.

Syrian people endured a decade of loss and heartbreak. But they didn’t give up on justice and respect for their rights. We must show our determination to support them in this path.

With false accusations and fabricated lies we just heard, the regime will not be able to cover up its crimes and walk away. When the time comes, the regime will be held accountable for the systematic massacres and enormous destruction it has committed throughout Syria.

As to the hallucinatory statement made by the Syrian regime representative, I will repeat, I do not consider him as my legitimate counterpart, his presence here is an affront to the millions of Syrians who suffered countless crimes at the hands of the regime and therefore I will not honor his delusional accusations with a response.

Thank you.