The speech of H.E. the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affair at the Fourth Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region”
Your Excellencies,,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
May the Peace, Mercy and Blessing of Allah be Upon You
At the outset, I am pleased to thank the European Union and the United Nations for calling to hold this conference. I would also like to thank the participant’s countries for their estimated efforts to support the brotherly Syrian people, despite the economic hardship that all countries faced due to the pandemic of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
This important conference is held under extremely bad humanitarian circumstances that the brotherly Syrian people are exposed to, with the continuation of the horrendous crimes and brutal acts which committed by the regime, against the brotherly Syrian people and the negative repercussions of the pandemic of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). This is putting us in front of moral and humanitarian responsibilities, therefor we must redouble our efforts to mitigate the serious negative repercussions of the Syrian crisis at the humanitarian and security levels.
The deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Syria, became worse and the number of refugees and displaced exceeded 12 million persons, in addition to a large number of marginalized groups such as children, women and elderly before. We are facing a humanitarian crisis that has never been known to humanity before, where the Syrian people were deprived from most basic necessities of living such as water, food, infrastructure, and basic social services such as education and health.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The success in facing the catastrophic and dangerous humanitarian repercussions of the Syrian crisis, will only come through finding a political solution that radically ends this crisis, and this is the responsibility of the international community, especially the Security Council and the actors. The Qatar affirms its unwavering support for the international efforts for reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis on the basis of the first Geneva Declaration of 2012 and the relevant Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution No 2254, to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people in security, stability and preserve the integrity of its territory.
In this context, the absence of a fair and just accountability for those who committed crimes against the Syrian people, will reinforce the increase and the continuing od such as of hideous atrocities and the aggravation of the tragedy of the brotherly Syrian people. The longer the Syrian crisis encourages criminals to commit more atrocities, the greater and deeper the suffering of the Syrian people, and it becomes difficult to erase their painful effects.
What generation do we expect from the Syrian war, and the children of Syria who have grown up with picture of artillery, bombings and massacres and with internationally prohibited weapons that have often affected their cities, villages, and families?
It is time for the international community to work hard to stop the killing machine of the Syrian regime and put an end to its increasing violence, which has no difference between it and violent extremism and terrorism, which reinforce each other and converge in existence, purpose, and outcome.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The State of Qatar, as commitment to its humanitarian and ethical responsibilities has spared no efforts, since the Syrian crisis strengthening the quick response to deliver effective assistances to the brotherly Syrian people. The actual Qatari assistance to the brotherly Syrian people exceeded two billion US Dollars. This support includes the fulfill of all of what we have pledged to, during the last conferences at Brussels and London to support the future of Syria and the region which reached 400 million US Dollars.
I would like to note that the Qatari people through the Qatari NGOs have supported their brotherly Syrians with an amounts exceeded 54 million US Dollars in 2020, to provide for the refugee’s camps and basic needs, to combat to the pandemic of the Coronavirus, and to face climate challenges, whether extreme heat waves in summer or freezing cold in winter.
Through its presidency of the Group Donors in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the State of Qatar contributed , by intensifying the efforts between humanitarian actors and the UN concerned organizations in this field, aiming to enhance the mechanism of delivering intensive support in a timely manner to areas witnessing acute conflicts, including Syria and those affected by hurricanes and droughts waves as well as the ones affected by the outbreak of the current Coronavirus
Proceeding from the firm belief of the State of Qatar to fulfill its international obligations and the humanitarian duty towards the brotherly Syrian people, I am pleased to pledge a new amount of … .US Dollars in order to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.
Finally, I would like to reiterate thanks and appreciation to all countries who pledged and fulfilled its obligations towards the Syrian people, I also appreciate the efforts of the UN and the EU on organizing this conference, I hope it will achieve its intended results.
May the Peace, Mercy and Blessing of Allah be Upon You