Syria: Briefing and Consultations
Tomorrow morning (28 August), the Security Council will hold a briefing on the political and humanitarian situations in Syria. Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen and Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya are expected to brief on political and humanitarian developments, respectively. Closed consultations are scheduled to follow the open briefing.
The political track in Syria remains at a standstill, and the Syrian Constitutional Committee has not met since June 2022. Russia, a close ally of Syria, has opposed Geneva as the venue for Committee meetings, following Switzerland’s imposition of sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. During the Council’s latest meeting on Syria, held on 22 July, Pedersen said that there is increasing frustration among regional and international stakeholders, who perceive the status quo as “dangerous and unsustainable”, adding that interest in Syria is waning in “some quarters”. He stressed the need for an approach that encompasses all the concerned military, political, and economic actors and addresses the range of issues that continue to drive the conflict or are directly related to its resolution. At tomorrow’s meeting, he is likely to reiterate his call on stakeholders to meaningfully engage to reinvigorate efforts in accordance with resolution 2254 of 18 December 2015—which focused on finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis, including through the reconvening of the Constitutional Committee.
The briefers and several Council members are likely to voice alarm about the continuing hostilities on multiple fronts in Syria, while calling on the parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and to agree to an immediate nationwide ceasefire. Pedersen may also call on the parties to respect and uphold international humanitarian law. Since 6 August, a significant escalation of hostilities has been reported on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in the Deir-ez-Zor governorate following the outbreak of fighting between pro-government forces, allegedly backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a primarily Kurdish group opposing the Syrian government. An 11 August flash update by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that critical public infrastructure had been targeted or used for military purposes, resulting in heightened risks for civilian access to essential services on both river banks. As at 14 August, the clashes had resulted in the deaths of at least 37 people and injury to 43 others, according to the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
In a 14 August joint statement, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis Ramanathan Balakrishnan expressed deep concern about the significant increase in violence in some parts of north-eastern Syria. The statement indicated that the hostilities have led to disruptions in access to water and food in the Al-Hasakeh governorate. It added that significant challenges persist for humanitarian operations, particularly movement restrictions on aid workers. The statement emphasised the urgent need to resume all humanitarian activities suspended as a result of the hostilities, including water and food distribution.
Tomorrow, Pedersen and some members may further reiterate concerns about violence spilling over into Syria against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war that erupted on 7 October 2023. A rocket strike hit the town of Majdal Shams in the north of the Israeli-occupied Golan on 26 July, killing 12 children and teenagers from the Druze community. (Many of the Druze community in the Israeli-controlled Golan, including in Majdal Shams, consider themselves citizens of Syria.) Israel accused Hezbollah of being responsible for the strike, while Hezbollah denied having any role in it. On 17 August, an airstrike reportedly conducted by Israel hit a concrete factory in the industrial zone of Nabatiyah in southern Lebanon, killing at least ten Syrian refugees. Media reports quoted Israel as claiming that it had targeted a weapons depot belonging to Hezbollah, a claim denied by local residents. The 17 August strike prompted Hezbollah to launch a barrage of rockets at Israel. In a 23 August interview, OCHA’s humanitarian affairs officer in Lebanon, Fadel Saleh, said that hostilities in Lebanon since 8 October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of at least 29 Syrians in the country.
Airstrikes, allegedly conducted by Israel, have also continued against sites in Syria that Jerusalem claims are associated with Iranian forces and affiliated militants. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR)—a UK-based monitoring group with a presence in the country—Israel had by 23 August conducted 60 attacks in Syria since the beginning of this year. Pedersen and some members may call on the parties to exercise restraint and to advance efforts towards maintaining stability and tranquillity in the region.
Msuya is expected to highlight the increasingly dire humanitarian situation in the country. Approximately 16.7 million people—nearly 70 percent of Syria’s population—are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. This is the highest recorded number of people requiring humanitarian assistance at any time during Syria’s civil war. Since the conflict erupted in 2011, over 14 million Syrians have been displaced, including 7.2 million who are internally displaced, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
At tomorrow’s meeting, the briefers and several Council members are likely to emphasise the need for unhindered humanitarian access through all modalities, including cross-border from Türkiye and cross-line—that is, across domestic conflict lines from Syrian government-held areas into areas outside government control. They may welcome the Syrian government’s 12 August decision to extend for three months, until 13 November, its consent for the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Bab al-Salam and Al Ra’ee border crossings at the Syria-Türkiye border by UN humanitarian agencies and their partners. This follows the Syrian government’s 10 July decision to extend the authorisation for use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing on the Syria-Türkiye border for six months, until 13 January. At the same time, China and Russia might emphasise that there has been a lack of progress in the cross-line delivery of aid and may also draw connections between unilateral sanctions imposed by some member states on Syria and the challenging humanitarian and economic situation in the country.
Msuya is likely to describe recent work undertaken by the UN and partner agencies to deliver humanitarian aid and stress the need to continue efforts on early recovery projects. She is expected to draw the Council’s attention to funding shortfalls faced by humanitarian agencies in Syria and their detrimental effects on the provision of aid to those in dire need. The briefers may appeal for enhanced international support to address the grave humanitarian situation and call on donors to quickly disburse funding from the commitments they have made. Despite the rising needs throughout the country, Syria’s 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan, requiring $4.07 billion, was only 24.2 percent funded at the time of writing. During the 27 May EU-sponsored eighth Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region”, the donor community pledged €7.5 billion, including €5 billion in grants and €2.5 billion in loans for 2024 and future years.
