Qatar Calls on International Community to Reconsider Strategy for Addressing Syrian Crisis
New York - information office - September 26
HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called on the international community to reconsider the strategy for dealing with the Syrian crisis in order to find a peaceful solution that would end the human suffering of the Syrian people away from any point-scoring.
In a speech at the EU's high-level meeting on Syria on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, His Excellency said that political efforts to resolve this crisis are faltering due to the absence of international consensus, narrow political calculations and conflicting international and regional interests.
HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the Syrian crisis, with its current and future dimensions and grave repercussions on international peace and security in the Middle East and the world, has become a source of distress for us and reveals the imbalance of the international order in the light of the continuing practices and crimes of the Syrian regime and the grave violations committed daily against its citizens, namely murder, destruction, forced displacement, demographic change and the use of internationally prohibited weapons.
His Excellency added that the international community, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, must carry out their legal, political and moral responsibilities and reconsider the strategy for dealing with the Syrian crisis so that we can find a peaceful solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people.
He reiterated Qatar's support for the political process sponsored by the United Nations in order to reach a settlement to the Syrian crisis, while appreciating all international and regional efforts that promote and comply with the resolutions of international legitimacy, in particular the Geneva Communique 1 of 2012 and the Security Council resolution No. 2254, the cornerstone for resolving this crisis radically and give the Syrian people the right to self-determination, while preserving the unity of the Syrian territory and its political independence and sovereignty.
HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani welcomed again the recent Sochi agreement, sponsored by the guarantor states, to stop the bloodshed of hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians in the Syrian province of Idlib, who are between the Scylla of the military conflict and the Charybdis of terrorist groups, stressing that the effectiveness of any agreement is subject to honoring it and to ensuring its actual implementation.
His Excellency also expressed his regret over the continued suffering of the Syrian people, pointing out that the alleviation of this suffering requires the international community to fulfill its humanitarian obligations and provide the necessary measures to ensure the implementation of the Security Council resolution 2165 on facilitating the provision and delivery of humanitarian assistance by any party to all affected areas in Syria as well as to Syrian refugees in neighboring and host countries as well as to provide needed aid and financial support.
In this context, he pointed to Qatar's fulfillment of all previous commitments during the political consultations and donor conferences, the latest of which was the second Brussels Conference this year, stressing that the State of Qatar will spare no effort in continuing to provide all aspects of support and assistance to the Syrian brothers in coordination with its international partners.
His Excellency drew attention to the State of Qatar's assertion that those responsible for committing atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria since the beginning of the crisis must be brought to international criminal justice in light of the continued serious violations of international humanitarian law by the Syrian regime, documented in the reports of the United Nations and international organizations.
HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that the State of Qatar continues to fulfill its international obligations with the international community in this regard by supporting a neutral and independent international mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of persons responsible for the most serious crimes committed in Syria since March 2011 as a factor in achieving a sustainable political solution to the Syrian crisis.
Concluding, His Excellency thanked the European Union and the United Nations for convening this meeting and for their efforts towards the Syrian crisis as well as for standing by the brotherly Syrian people in their painful ordeal.