President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Nasr Al-Hariri, held a virtual meeting with the Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations, Geraldine Byrne Nason and discussed with her the situation on the ground in Syria, the latest developments in the political process and the work Constitutional Committee, and the SOC’s position in this regard.
The meeting brought together Coordinator of the SOC’s Department of Foreign Relations Abduahad Asteipho, SOC’s representative to United Nations Maryam Shalabi, SOC’s representative to the United States, Qutaiba Idilbi, and SOC’s representative to the United Kingdom, Bahiya Mardini.
Al-Hariri talked about the conditions in various Syrian regions, which are suffering continued deterioration of the living conditions due to the failure of the Assad regime and its backers to commit to agreements and their disruption of efforts to reach political solution in line with the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Resolution 2254.
Al-Hariri also talked about the health conditions in the liberated areas and the Syrian Interim Government’s (SIG) efforts to stem coronavirus. He stressed the importance of securing vaccines for the population and preventing a major outbreak in the IDP camps.
Moreover, Al-Hariri pointed to the Assad regime and its backers’ repeated attacks and violations of the ceasefire agreement in northwestern Syria, stressing that this confirms the Assad regime’s insistence on pursuing a military solution.
He stressed the importance of ensuring the release of detainees and the disclosure of the fate of the forcibly disappeared, stressing that this issue must not be subject to negotiations.
He also talked about preparations by the SOC’s representatives in the Constitutional Committee for the upcoming round of talks, adding that the SOC’s Constitutional Working Group was tasked with developing a vision for the future constitution of Syria. He said that this constitutes the negotiating ground for drafting a new constitution in the UN-supervised political process to implement the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
Furthermore, Al-Hariri pointed out that Russia is trying to circumvent UN resolutions, adding that the path of the Constitutional Committee is not sufficient to reach a political solution in the country. He called for activating the work of the rest of the baskets in parallel with the work of the Committee.
Idilbi talked about the situation in the Rukban refugee camp as he called for finding a permanent solution to the plight of Syrians living there in light of the severe shortages in humanitarian, relief and medical aid as a result of the blockade imposed by the Assad regime.
Asteipho gave an overview on the humanitarian situation after Russia refused the delivery of humanitarian aid into Syria via four border crossings and its agreeing to two crossings only. He stressed the need to return to the one-year mandate of the old resolution and to open all border crossings to humanitarian convoys, or increase the humanitarian aid to cover all needs.
Shalabi talked about the SOC’s keenness on increasing women’s representation in the General Assembly and its affiliated institutions, in addition to expanding their participation in political activity.
For her part, the Irish diplomat stressed the importance of reaching a political solution in Syria through the implementation of UN resolutions, as she pointed out that her country will work with the new US administration to exert pressure on the Assad regime to commit to the implementation of UN resolutions.
She indicated that her country is also seeking to ensure accountability for perpetrators of war crimes in Syria and prevent impunity. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
