At the outset. I would like to congratulate Mr. Dennis Francis on his election as President of the General Assembly at its current session, and to thank his predecessor. Mr. Csaba Korosi. for his presidency at the previous session. I also thank the Secretary-General for the efforts he is making to implement the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, in accordance with the mandate entrusted to him.
Our world today is witnessing important transformations and an increase of serious challenges.
foremost of which is the outbreak of devastating conflicts in many regions around the world, the continued occupation of some peoples of the world, the spread of the scourge of terrorism, declining rates of development and a sharp rise in rates of poverty and hunger, in addition to the catastrophic impacts of unilateral coercive measures and economic blockade policies, as well as the negative repercussions of climate change and related natural disasters.
We must all confront those challenges as they will affect the future of our upcoming generations. Eliminating them or mitigating their impacts to a minimum requires global cooperation, solidarity and concerted efforts among Member States to build a new multipolar world order that strikes a new balance in international relations, including by reforming international financial institutions and other bodies, especially the Security Council, and achieving true sustainable development that guarantees the benefit and well-being of all peoples of the world.
The policies of creative chaos adopted by successive United States administrations in our region to serve their geopolitical and selfish interests have led to the destabilization of security and stability there as they worked to create and exaggerate problems to ignite tensions and then conflicts. They spent billions of dollars to demolish and destroy development achievements made over decades, and contributed to the emergence of the phenomenon of extremism and terrorism, such as the Da’esh and Al-Nusra Front terrorist organizations.
Multilateralism, the United Nations Charter and other relevant international conventions have not been spared that creative United States chaos. Over the past 10 years, we have witnessed an increasing tendency to misinterpret and misapply the provisions of the Charter, especially Article 51. and to use them as an excuse to justify attacks on the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of other countries, as well as to manipulate the provisions of international conventions and treaties and to politicize human rights issues to justify interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and exert pressure on them.
The basic principle affirmed by the Charter of the United Nations is respect for the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Member States. Therefore, any acquisition of the lands of others by force is an occupation, and any illegal military presence on the territories of any sovereign State is an explicit violation of the Charter and a clear breach of international law. It must end immediately and unconditionally.
Accordingly. Israel’s occupation of the Arab lands in Palestine and the Golan since 1967 to this very day; the consequent construction of settlements; efforts to change the demographic composition and institutional structure, especially through attempts to forcefully impose Israeli citizenship on the people of the Golan, not to mention the plundering of the natural resources of the Golan; the seizure of Syrian farmers’ lands to build huge wind turbines on them, and other documented violations are the most heinous forms of grave and systematic violations of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law.
The Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms its legitimate right to recover the entire occupied Syrian Golan up to the line of 4 June 1967. no matter how long it takes. That is an inalienable right that is not subject to compromise, pressure or any statute of limitations. It is guaranteed by international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, especially Security Council resolution 497 (1981). Syria also stresses that it will exercise its legitimate right to defend its territories and people by all necessary means and to ensure that the Israeli occupation authorities are held accountable for all their crimes, with no impunity.
Syria has supported and continues to support the Palestinian question, as it is the central Arab cause. Syria has spared no effort to stand alongside the brotherly Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle to regain their legitimate rights, especially their right to establish their independent State on their land, with Jerusalem as its capital, and to attain Palestine’s full membership of the United Nations.
What we have witnessed during this year of dangerous escalation of Israeli criminal practices, in which the number of victims has reached its highest level yet. is pushing the region into unprecedented tension and instability. That is evident in Israel’s commission of more massacres, the escalation of its military aggression and its repeated missile attacks on Syrian cities, ports and civil airports, which have endangered civilian lives and the safety of civil aviation, and hampered United Nations humanitarian operations. Moreover, it has pursued its policies of settlement. Judaization, siege, arbitrary arrest, forced
displacement and racial discrimination in the occupied Arab territories.
While the Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms all those Israeli crimes and attacks, it equally denounces the continued support for such practices or silence about them on the part of some countries that declare themselves protectors of international humanitarian law and human rights law. which makes them complicit with the perpetrators of those crimes and clearly demonstrates the double standards they practice.
Israel’s continued occupation of Arab lands and its brutal practices are consistent with the destructive role played by some countries on Syrian lands. The United States and Türkiye continue to violate Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity by insisting on perpetuating their illegal military presence on Syrian lands and supporting separatist militias and terrorist organizations. This is in addition to the infiltration of Western political and military officials and others into Syrian territory, without any respect for Syria’s sovereignty and independence. That is a flagrant interference in its internal affairs.
The systematic and exposed United States plunder of the Syrian people’s national wealth, such as oil. gas and wheat, has deprived the Syrians of their resources and exacerbated their humanitarian suffering in an unprecedented manner. Our latest statistics show that the total value of the direct and indirect losses caused to the oil sector in Syria has exceeded $115 billion. We believe that the United Nations is obligated to hold the United States accountable and compel it to return that looted money to the Syrian Government.
In parallel with all of that, the United States of America and its European allies continue to impose unilateral, illegal, immoral and inhumane coercive measures on various sectors in Syria, which has only exacerbated the suffering of Syrians wherever they are. given that their impact includes third countries. The Secretary-General has noted in his reports the impact of those measures on United Nations procurement and payments. Those countries intentionally include in their measures the public health sector, the banking sector, the air transport sector. Syrian civil aviation equipment and the energy sector, including a ban on the supply of oil and its derivatives to Syria or the import of power plants, equipment related to power generation and spare parts. They also include a prohibition on importing equipment and machinery necessary for drinking water supply, irrigation, water sterilization and purification, and the repair and improvement of the sewage system. The agricultural sector has not been spared from those unilateral sanctions, which include a ban on the import of the fertilizers and machinery necessary for agricultural production that provides food for the Syrians.
Syria was one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world. It was achieving food self- sufficiency and providing all the basic necessities of life for its people in a way that was rarely seen in the region. However, the terrorist war that has been waged against it since 2011 has changed that situation and caused a significant humanitarian crisis whose severity was aggravated by the imposition of unilateral coercive measures. Recently, the devastating earthquake that struck Syria on 6 February added a new burden and suffering. The earthquake destroyed hundreds of buildings, infrastructure and service facilities, claimed thousands of victims and injured many more, and made tens of thousands homeless.
The Syrian Government has taken all measures to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and relief workers to all affected areas. It has granted and continues to grant open approvals to the United Nations and international organizations working in Syria to facilitate and accelerate the entry of emergency relief supplies to support those affected, including the opening, by sovereign decision, of border crossings to facilitate the humanitarian response for the sake of Syrians in the affected areas under the control of terrorist organizations in north-western Syria.
In that regard, the Syrian Arab Republic reiterates its thanks and appreciation to all countries that have stood in solidarity with Syria and its people and rushed to respond to the needs of the Syrian people in light of the difficult circumstances they have faced. It also expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for launching the flash appeal to respond to the catastrophic repercussions of the earthquake.
The Syrian Government is still continuing, within its limited capabilities, to make every effort to address the impacts of the earthquake in the four affected governorates. The President of the Republic issued in May a decree establishing the National Fund to Support those Affected by the Earthquake, with the aim of providing them with financial support and helping them
overcome the resulting physical, material or moral harm. The decree represented the foundation of the basic directions and the national action plan approved by the Syrian Government to deal with the repercussions of the earthquake in their various aspects, and to move from the emergency response phase of relief work to the recovery phase from its impacts.
The Syrian Arab Republic reiterates that improving the humanitarian situation in Syria will require providing sustainable solutions to support the Syrians, especially after the earthquake, by increasing the size and quantity of early recovery projects in a way that reduces dependence on life-saving humanitarian aid. increases the Syrians’ resilience and establishes conditions for a dignified and voluntary return of displaced persons and refugees to their homes. However, that will require providing the necessary funding through the fulfilment by international donors of the pledges they have made.
Turning to the return of refugees, the Syrian Arab Republic declares from this rostrum its readiness to welcome the return of all Syrian refugees who left their homes, villages or cities. We call on our citizens who were forced by terrorist organizations to seek refuge to return to their homeland. The Syrian Government has taken all necessary decisions in that regard and is cooperating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Arab Contact Committee to reach that noble goal. In that regard. I call on Western countries that have been asking refugees not to return to their homeland to end those inhumane practices.
In parallel. Syria has responded positively to the efforts and initiatives presented within the framework of the political track. It has supported the approach of local settlements and national reconciliation as a way to restore conditions to normalcy in various parts of the country and to strengthen national unity and the cohesion of Syrian society. It has participated in the meetings held in the Astana format, welcomed their results and maintained communication with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria.
The Arab Summit that was held in May in Jeddah, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, made a great achievement by restoring the resplendence of the collective Arab position and the momentum of Arab joint action. At the Summit, the Arab countries affirmed their support for Syria in its efforts to preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity and to overcome the difficult circumstances it is enduring as a result of the terrorist war it has faced, the economic sanctions imposed on it and the repercussions of the devastating earthquake that struck it.
The Syrian Arab Republic expresses its support and solidarity with the Libyan people in facing the repercussions of the hurricane and floods that struck them, as well as with the Moroccan people as a result of the devastating earthquake there.
Syria reaffirms its support for the right of the Russian Federation to defend itself and protect its national security in response to aggressive Western policies. In doing so. it is defending not only itself but also the right of all of us to reject the logic of Western and unipolar hegemony.
Syria commends the constructive and responsible approach of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding its return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, from which the United States unilaterally and illegally withdrew. It calls on the United States and its Western allies to meet Iran’s legitimate demands.
Syria supports the one-China principle and the positions of the People’s Republic of China in confronting attempts to interfere in its internal affairs, whether in Taiwan. Hong Kong or Xinjiang. It stresses China’s inalienable right to take whatever measures and steps it deems necessary to defend its sovereignty, especially in confronting the unprecedented escalation and provocation policy practiced by the United States of America against it.
Syria condemns the unjust economic blockade imposed on Cuba for decades, including the United States Administration’s extension of the so-called Trading with the Enemy Act.
Syria calls for an end to the military action and exercises conducted by the United States on the Korean peninsula, which have led to escalation of tension in that region.
Syria also demands the lifting of all forms of unilateral coercive measures imposed by Western countries on the Russian Federation. Iran. Venezuela. Belarus. Nicaragua, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Zimbabwe. Eritrea and my country. Syria, and considers them to be a form of economic terrorism, which is no less brutal and dangerous than armed terrorism in its catastrophic humanitarian effects on the targeted peoples.
In conclusion, the General Assembly was created to be a platform for dialogue and public diplomacy among Member States, and not a platform for levelling false accusations or launching hostile campaigns against each other. That is why we look forward to the current session of the General Assembly, under President Francis’s leadership, being able to fulfil the theme he has set. namely. “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and the sustainability for all.” That requires translating the theme into real and serious action that helps give all countries fair opportunities that ensure no one is left behind, and also strengthens the position and status of the General Assembly as the most representative organ of the United Nations.