New York-Sana
Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh, affirmed that the suffering of the Syrian people continues as a result of the practices of Western countries whose interests and agendas have dominated the lives of Syrians and the security and stability of the region, noting that improving the humanitarian situation requires lifting illegal coercive measures, ending foreign occupation of Syrian lands and stopping support for terrorist organizations and militias. separatist.
During a session of the Security Council today, Sabbagh stressed that the Syrian state is making every effort to improve the humanitarian situation, provide basic needs and services, rebuild what was destroyed by terrorism, return Syria to the path of sustainable development and ensure the return of the displaced to their homes and normal lives, but these efforts collide with major obstacles that limit the achievement of their hoped results. As a result of wrong policies and gross violations of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, including the imposition of unilateral coercive measures committed by Western countries, their interests and agendas have dominated the lives and well-being of Syrians and the security and stability of Syria and the region.
Sabbagh explained that until recently, Syria was characterized by self-sufficiency in many agricultural products, while today it finds itself obliged to import quantities of these products, for example, its annual production of wheat before the war was about two and a half million tons, but today it needs to import one and a half million tons of wheat Annually to provide bread to citizens, and the reason is that the American occupation forces and their client separatist militias in the northeast of the country seize and loot the production of Syrian wheat. There is a significant shortage of irrigation water needed for agriculture due to the Turkish regime’s continued violation of bilateral agreements regulating the flow of the Euphrates River, as well as its use of water as a weapon against civilians. Depriving more than a million Syrian citizens of drinking water.
Sabbagh pointed out that before the crisis, Syria produced 9,500 megawatts of electric power, but today its production does not exceed 2,600 megawatts, and this energy production deficit is caused by the looting of the American occupation forces and their tools, energy carriers of oil and gas, in addition to the crimes of terrorist organizations and the attacks of the so-called “international coalition.” Which caused severe damage to power plants, transmission and distribution networks, and led to about 50 percent of the electricity system going out of service.
Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations pointed out that the health sector, medical services, and the Syrian pharmaceutical industry, which was pioneering before the war and achieved self-sufficiency for the majority of medicines, in addition to exporting its production to dozens of countries, has become this important sector today groaning under the weight of a severe shortage due to the siege and exacerbated with the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. 19 This deprived Syrians of their right to obtain essential health care and medicine.
Sabbagh indicated that the unilateral coercive measures illegally imposed by the United States and the European Union on the Syrian people affected various sectors, including banks, energy, communications, air, sea and land transport, and have multiplied in recent years, which has exacerbated the suffering of the Syrians and the decline in indicators of sustainable development after it was making progress. Remarkable before 2011 and economic growth reached 9 percent.
Sabbagh pointed out that the effects of these illegal measures also affected the work of the United Nations and other international organizations in Syria, where the cost of the food basket provided by the World Food Program to the needy has increased fivefold, and its nutritional value has been reduced by less than half, the exchange rate has increased, inflation has increased and purchasing power has deteriorated. The irony is that some Western countries that have deliberately harmed the Syrian economy are complaining about fluctuations in the exchange rates of the national currency.
Sabbagh explained that with the lapse of eight months since the Security Council adopted Resolution 2585, and only four months remaining until the end of its mandate, we have not seen any significant progress in implementing early recovery projects due to the absence of the political will of some Western countries to implement its content. Through the lines, despite the great cooperation shown by Syria and its provision of many facilities to the United Nations to support the implementation of its provisions, especially those related to promoting cross-line access and implementing early recovery projects.
Sabbagh said: In exchange for running 16 convoys, including 1,261 trucks, across the lines during the months of December and the second, the United Nations has succeeded during the past eight months only by running two convoys, including only 28 trucks, across the lines to the northwest, as a result of the Turkish regime and its tools of terrorist organizations obstructing the delivery and distribution of aid to serve Its hostile agendas, as this regime represents the main sponsor and protector of the Al-Nusra Front and other terrorist entities that control Idlib and its surroundings.
Sabbagh stressed that improving the humanitarian situation in Syria and restoring security and stability to it requires changing the political approach and conducting rational dialogues based mainly on achieving the interests of the Syrian people that lead to ending the Turkish, American and Israeli foreign occupation of Syrian lands, stopping their continuous attacks on Syrian lands, stopping their sponsorship of terrorist organizations and separatist militias, and closing Illegal camps and camps on Syrian territory, expelling foreign terrorists and their families from Syria and returning them to their countries of origin, stopping dangerous plays aimed at recycling terrorists, as well as the immediate and unconditional lifting of the US-European economic blockade imposed on Syria and supporting the efforts of the Syrian state to achieve sustainable development and improve the humanitarian situation and provide Basic services.
Regarding the political issue, Sabbagh said that the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Geir Pedersen, visited Damascus last week and held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr. Daraa, Deir ez-Zor, al-Hasakah and the liberated areas of Raqqa governorate, which enabled a large number of Syrians to return to their normal lives. The general amnesty decrees that benefited thousands of Syrians were also mentioned, which are very important steps that must be focused on and not ignored.
Sabbagh reiterated Syria's commitment to a political solution based on a Syrian-Syrian national dialogue under the ownership and leadership of Syria and in light of its full commitment to its sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, and its emphasis also on implementing the content of the reference paper that organizes the work of the Constitution Discussion Committee and not to exceed its provisions under any pretexts, stressing that the work of the The committee is an exclusive right for the Syrians, and no outside parties have the right to interfere with it, obstruct it, or impose its timetables or prior conclusions of its results.
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