The Security Council, acting unanimously today, adopted a resolution demanding parties to Syria’s seven-year-long conflict to cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days, ensuring a “durable humanitarian pause” to enable weekly humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded.
By the terms of resolution 2401 (2018), the 15-member Council demanded that, immediately after the start of the cessation of hostilities, all parties would allow safe, unimpeded and sustained access each week for the humanitarian convoys of the United Nations and their implementing partners to all requested areas and populations — particularly the 5.6 million people in 1,244 communities in acute need and the 2.9 million in hard-to-reach and besieged locations, subject to standard United Nations security assessments. It also demanded that the United Nations and its partners be allowed to carry out safe, unconditional medical evacuations, based on medical need and urgency […]
Affirming that the cessation of hostilities would not apply to military operations against Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), Al-Qaida, Al-Nusra Front and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with terrorist groups, as designated by the Council, the organ further called on relevant Member States to coordinate efforts to monitor the cessation of hostilities, building on existing arrangements. It called on all Member States to use their influence with the parties to ensure its implementation and create conditions for a durable and lasting ceasefire […]
Syria’s representative, stressing that the horrific stories outlined by some speakers omitted descriptions of the many crimes they themselves had perpetrated, said his Government had taken seriously and observed all de-escalation initiatives in order to protect the lives of its citizens. Calling on all States to sever ties with terrorist groups — whose violations had become increasingly serious and now threatened the lives of 8 million people in Damascus — he declared: “We bear the responsibility as a State for our citizens, and we have a right to counter-terrorism.” Indeed, Syria had the right to defend itself according to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, he said, urging the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and France to stop devising plans — reminiscent of their colonial pasts — aimed at dividing his country.
Ur resolutionen: “Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, and to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations”