Ambassador Ala: The dangers of mines left by terrorist organizations continue to threaten the lives of Syrians

Geneva - Sana

Syria stressed the importance of basing international support for efforts to remove mines and explosive ordnance on the rules of international law in coordination with the relevant national authorities, pointing out that the dangers of mines, explosive munitions and explosive devices left by terrorist organizations continue to threaten the lives of Syrians on a daily basis, deprive them of their means of livelihood and impede the return of displaced persons to their homes.

In a statement today, during the nineteenth meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines, Ambassador Hossam El-Din Ala, the Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations Office and International Organizations in Geneva, said that the problem of mines, explosive ordnance and improvised explosive devices remains a major source of threat to the lives of millions of people, especially Children and women are destroying livelihoods, hampering development and stability efforts, and the return of displaced people to their homes in many parts of the world. Despite national efforts to address the multidimensional dangers and challenges arising from them, achieving real progress requires strong international support and facilitating the access of affected countries to the financial and technical resources necessary for operations Clearing landmines without politicization or double standards.

Ambassador Ala pointed out that with the escalation of challenges related to the multiplicity of hotbeds of tension in the world and the spread of terrorism, the resort of terrorist organizations to the use of mines and improvised explosive devices to threaten civilians and spread terrorism requires taking effective measures to combat it and to ensure that countries supplying terrorist organizations with mines and explosive munitions comply with relevant Security Council resolutions. related to counter-terrorism.

Ambassador Ala said the Syrian Arab Republic has suffered from the effects of the terrorist war targeting it since 2011, which has caused terrorist organizations such as ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to resort to the use of mines and improvised explosive devices, causing great human suffering. With the liberation of the majority of Syrian lands from the terrorists’ control, the dangers of mines, explosive ordnance and improvised explosive devices left by terrorist organizations continue to threaten the lives of Syrians on a daily basis, deprive them of their livelihoods, and impede the return of the displaced to their homes.

In this context, the Ambassador added, the Syrian Arab Republic deals, as a priority, with the issue of removing mines, explosive ordnance and improvised explosive devices left by terrorist organizations to protect its citizens and ensure their safe return to their homes and face the humanitarian, social and economic consequences arising therefrom.

Ambassador Ala reviewed the efforts made by the Syrian government in this field, as it signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Mine Service Service (UNMAS) in 2018 and developed an action plan that begins with educating citizens in contaminated areas and then moving to clearing them and providing assistance to mine victims.

Ambassador Ala indicated that the insistence of Western countries to continue to impose and expand unilateral coercive measures on the Syrian people and to refrain from providing sufficient financial and technical resources to support efforts to remove mines and explosive ordnance and linking them to political conditions that ignore the humanitarian dimensions of these

The issue limits the effectiveness and scope of the efforts exerted and undermines the possibility of securing the material and logistical requirements for demining in Syria, which increases the number of victims and impedes the program of strengthening resilience, early recovery and the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes.

Ambassador Ala clarified that the illegal foreign presence on parts of the Syrian territory, the use of mines and improvised explosive devices by terrorist groups in their locations, and the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan constitute obstacles to the comprehensive response to identify and clear all mine-contaminated areas on Syrian territory.

Ambassador Ala concluded by saying that Syria stresses the importance of basing international support for efforts to remove mines and explosive ordnance on the rules of international law, in coordination with the concerned national authorities.