The joint delegation of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) and Syrian Negotiations Commission (SNC) to the United States met with the mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the UN on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. The two sides discussed the latest developments on the ground and in the political process.
The meeting brought together SOC’s Vice-president Abdulahad Asteifo and SNC’s members Ibrahim Berro and Fadwa Al-Ujaili.
The Liechtenstein side included Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations Christian Wenaweser and Director of the Mission’s Foreign Office Ambassador Martin Frick.
The joint delegation spoke about the latest developments on the ground in Syria, especially the escalating bombing by the Assad regime and its backers against civilians in the liberated areas. They stressed that the ceasefire that was reached in March 2020 led to a significant decrease in hostilities, but it was only a relative decrease in the suffering that Syrian civilians endured in early 2020.
The delegation pointed out that the Assad regime forces continue to arbitrarily arrest, torture and execute detainees, and commit war crimes and crimes against humanity as did other terrorist organizations.
The delegation stressed that it was about time to put the Syrian people first and make all possible efforts to achieve a comprehensive political solution that begins with an immediate, nationwide ceasefire.
The delegation expressed its appreciation to the Principality of Liechtenstein for its support for the “Accountability, Coherence and Transparency” cross-regional group tasked with reforming the previous working methods of the UN Security Council and to lobbying for accountability processes and transitional justice mechanisms in the United Nations and Syria.
The delegation called on the Principality of Liechtenstein to support an impartial, independent mechanism for disclosing the fate of detainees, the missing and forcibly disappeared persons in Syria. They also called for supporting the proposal to establish a European tribunal for Syria that would unify prosecution efforts in European countries and provide the necessary expertise to European Union countries and any other country wishing to join the tribunal.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)