UNITED NATIONS: Amid worsening humanitarian conditions in Syria, Pakistan has urged the UN Security Council to provide urgent sanctions relief, stressing that easing restrictions is vital for advancing peace, stability, and reconstruction after 14 years of civil war.
“We emphasize the critical importance of easing sanctions on Syria in order to enable economic recovery, reconstruction and reintegration,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, acting permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Council on Wednesday.
At the same time, he emphasized the need for improvement in Syria’s governance to yield tangible results towards those ends.
The Pakistani envoy said the holding of parliamentary elections for the People’s Assembly recently reflected a move towards greater political engagement and the rebuilding of state institutions. “We also hope that regions, which experienced delays due to security concerns, will soon be able to hold elections, ensuring inclusive participation across the country.”
Equally important on the political front, he said, was the recent agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition of ethnic militias and rebel groups, and the central government to integrate SDF units into Syria’s national army.
“This development represents a positive and necessary contribution to national cohesion and the restoration of unified state institutions, and we look forward to its full and timely implementation.”
Ambassador Jadoon called for comprehensively addressing concerns over the presence of foreign terrorist fighters through both political and security measures, including the implementation of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) reforms. “We also hope that centralized authority will be extended and consolidated, throughout the country, so as to effectively address the concerning situations including in (the regions of) Suweidah, Aleppo and Deir-az-Zour.”
Reaffirming Pakistan’s solidarity with the people of Syria, he expressed confidence that through concerted domestic efforts and requisite international support, the country will emerge stronger, more peaceful and prosperous.
“We will continue to support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process towards this end, respecting the sovereign choices of the Syrian people”.