New York-Sana
Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, affirmed that the biggest challenges that Syria faces in its pursuit of the sustainable development goals is the terrorist war imposed on it over nine years ago and the economic terrorist war represented by unilateral coercive measures in addition to acts of aggression and occupation and the related Practices designed to plunder the capabilities of the Syrian state.
Al-Jaafari said in a statement before the Second Committee of the United Nations General Assembly within the framework of the sustainable development item .. The Syrian Arab Republic fully believes in the importance of the United Nations agenda for the year 2030, and this is what it demonstrated by presenting its first voluntary national review during the high-level political forum on sustainable development for the year 2020.
He added, despite the great efforts made by the Syrian government in its endeavor to achieve the goals of sustainable development, it faces great challenges by providing an appropriate environment for achieving development and sustaining its components and results .. The first is the terrorist war imposed on it for more than nine years, and the second is the economic terrorist war imposed on it by some. Governments represented by unilateral coercive measures, and the third is acts of aggression and occupation and associated practices aimed at plundering the capabilities of the Syrian state, the property of the Syrians and their livelihoods, including oil and gas, antiquities, factories, machinery and agricultural crops.
Al-Jaafari stressed that achieving the United Nations' work agenda for the year 2030 requires upholding the principles of international law and the provisions of the Charter, ensuring the commitment of member states to them, and supporting the efforts of states affected by occupation practices, terrorist crimes and illegal coercive measures to ensure that they are not left behind and their ability to achieve economic, social and environmental development, indicating that conditions The accompanying COVID-19 pandemic imposes the need for urgent action to end the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the governments of certain countries on many of our member states, including Syria.
Al-Jaafari mentioned what the President of the General Assembly said a few days ago in terms of that the member states are facing the largest global recession since the Great Depression in 1929 and the largest collapse in income since 1870, pointing out that these facts should push the countries that impose the economic terrorist war on other countries to a sense of legal responsibility. And to desist from these practices contrary to the provisions of the Charter and the appeal of the Secretary-General of the United Nations last March.
Al-Jaafari said: My country is still looking forward to working with the United Nations development system to respond to the national priorities that are currently centered on the transition from humanitarian relief and securing basic needs to the pursuit of development sustainability and ensuring economic recovery and reconstruction.
Al-Jaafari stressed that a serious commitment to achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires moving away from any political agendas that contradict the principles and purposes of the Charter and said that the Syrian government calls for support for development needs away from politicization and double standards and the attempts of some governments to interfere in the internal affairs of countries and impose certain restrictive trends on The United Nations is in the area of approving standards and principles for providing assistance and support to the Syrian Arab Republic, with the aim of restricting this assistance and support to humanitarian relief only and impeding the reconstruction process.
In the conclusion of his statement, Al-Jaafari called on all member states to work collectively to implement the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, away from unilateralism and politicization, and said that our world today is in dire need of solidarity and cooperation and a return to clinging to the hopes that the founding fathers placed on this international organization.