S/2020/693 Security Council

In accordance with the procedure agreed upon by the members of the Security Council in the light of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic, and as reflected in the letter dated 27 March 2020 from the President of the Security Council addressed to all members of the Council (S/2020/253), I would like to draw your attention to the following: The members of the Council have discussed a draft resolution submitted by Belgium and Germany in connection with the agenda item “The situation in the Middle East”. That draft resolution has been put into blue (S/2020/667, see enclosure). With the understanding of the members of the Council, in my capacity as President of the Security Council, I hereby put the above-mentioned draft resolution to a vote. The non-extendable 24-hour voting period for that draft resolution will begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday, 9 July 2020 and expire at 1 p.m. on Friday, 10 July 2020. Please submit your vote (in favour, against or abstain) on that draft resolution and possible explanation of vote by sending the Director of the Security Council Affairs Division of the Secretariat (egian@un.org) a letter signed by the Permanent Representative or Chargé d’affaires a.i. within the non-extendable 24-hour voting period set out above. It is my intention to circulate a letter listing the outcome of the vote within three hours of the conclusion of the 24-hour voting period. I also intend to convene a video-teleconference of the Security Council to announce the outcome of the vote shortly after the conclusion of the voting period, on the afternoon of Friday, 10 July 2020.

China supports the international community in stepping up humanitarian relief efforts in Syria on the basis of respecting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We encourage the relevant parties to push for progress in cross-line humanitarian operations. China does not object to retaining the cross-border mechanism at this stage. Cross-border operations should strictly follow the guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance set out in General Assembly resolution 46/182. Meanwhile, the cross-border mechanism should be adjusted accordingly in the light of the developments on the ground. Years of illegal sanctions have wreaked havoc on Syria’s economic and social development, exacerbated the humanitarian crisis and weakened Syria’s capacity to respond to coronavirus disease. Secretary-General Guterres and Special Envoy Pedersen have repeatedly called on the relevant countries to lift unilateral coercive measures. Those appeals are supported by the vast majority of United Nations Member States. China has repeatedly emphasized to the co-penholders that the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures must be taken into account in the Security Council’s draft resolution on the mandate renewal of the cross-border mechanism in Syria and that necessary actions should be taken on the issue of unilateral coercive measures. However, the co-penholders ignored the appeals of Member States and refused to accept China’s proposed amendments. Under such circumstances, China was left with no choice but to vote against draft resolution S/2020/667. China once again calls upon the Security Council to address this critical issue and urges the relevant countries to immediately lift the unilateral coercive measures imposed on Syria. We also request an objective assessment by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the impact of unilateral coercive measures on the humanitarian situation in Syria, to be presented in a comprehensive report to the Security Council. The United States claims that it cares about the suffering of Syrian civilians, but it has imposed additional illegal sanctions on Syria through the law known as the Caesar Act, stifling the livelihoods of the Syrian people. The United States claims that there are so-called humanitarian exemptions from the unilateral coercive measures. However, years of illegal sanctions have severely undermined Syria’s ability to mobilize resources, develop the economy and improve people’s well-being. That can by no means be resolved by the so-called humanitarian exemptions. The United States claims to uphold the spirit of humanitarianism, but it has politicized humanitarian issues and ruthlessly bashed the Government and the people of Syria, devastating livelihoods of the Syrian people. The role the United States has played in the Syrian issue and the crime it has committed in Syria are clear to the people of the world. China emphasizes once again that we should take a holistic and comprehensive approach to the Syrian issue, considering the political, counter-terrorism, security and humanitarian aspects together. We urge all parties to strengthen dialogue and negotiation, actively promote a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned political process and work together to achieve a peaceful, just and proper settlement of the Syrian issue at an early date.

The Russian Federation was once again compelled to vote against the draft resolution (S/2020/667) on the extension of the cross-border mechanism for the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria, submitted by Belgium and Germany. The new draft by the co-penholders is like the old one, with the same one- sided approach and disconnection from the reality on the ground. None of us should forget that the mechanism was established in 2014 as an urgent, temporary and exceptional measure. There is no doubt that it contradicts international humanitarian law and undermines Syrian sovereignty. For the war-torn country, the proposal was a difficult but necessary compromise to provide relief to people in need. We have repeatedly pointed out the problems in the functioning of the cross-border mechanism monitoring system, including its accountability. Those problems remain unresolved. Bearing that in mind, our position on the mechanism has always been clear — the crossing points should be gradually closed and the whole mechanism should be phased out based on the assessment of the situation in the country. The closure of Al-Yarubiyah last January stimulated cooperation between the United Nations and the Government of Syria. It allowed the dispatch of four World Health Organization convoys to the north-east. The most recent one, as of 4 July, had delivered 85 tons of medical supplies from Damascus to Al-Hasakah province. The amount of essential medical material that has delivered to the north-east through those four convoys alone exceeds the amount of aid that was previously delivered to that area by all routes, including through Al-Yarubiyah when it was open. Such modalities are what should be fully supported and promoted instead of continuously relying on temporary and extraordinary mechanisms. We definitely cannot ignore the negative impact of sanction regimes, which recently became even more severe for the Syrian people and territories under Government control. They are in a total disregard for the Secretary-General’s call for the lifting of unilateral coercive measures in the context of the coronavirus disease pandemic. An increased shortage of food, medicines and basic commodities, as well as rising inflation are their direct consequences. However, what is more important is that, in reality, they de facto void exemptions to sanctions. Humanitarian workers in Syria privately admit those facts but are obviously scared to speak up about it in fear of retaliations. At the same time, areas beyond the control of the legitimate Syrian authorities fully enjoy a sanctions-free regime. Such an approach leads to further isolation of those areas from Damascus, including economic distancing; for instance, in Idlib and to the east of the Euphrates River, local authorities have started using currencies other than the Syrian pound. It inevitably results in the rupture of internal connections and the disruption of supply chains. Unilateral sanctions must be lifted and international humanitarian assistance for Syria should be governed by a universally agreed framework in line with the United Nations guiding principles on such assistance, as stipulated in General Assembly resolution 46/182. If what matters to us all is to keep humanitarian aid flowing to Idlib through the cross-border mechanism for another year, then the new draft resolution presented by Russia should be supported. One year of uninterrupted functioning of the S/2020/693 cross-border mechanism, taking into account the current epidemiological situation, would guarantee the necessary assistance for the inhabitants of north-western Syria.