S/PV.6572 Security Council

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1994 (2010). I shall now call on those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the adoption of the resolution.

We voted in favour of resolution 1994 (2011) today as the United Kingdom welcomes the efforts of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to maintain stability within its area of operations. It continues to play a valuable and effective role. We must, however, find a lasting solution to the situation. That will require the cooperation of both parties. We therefore urge Syria and Israel to resume peace negotiations aimed at achieving a comprehensive peace agreement, in accordance with the Madrid Conference terms of reference for peace. The United Kingdom is gravely concerned by the ongoing violence in Syria and the clear threat to regional peace and stability that it presents. In particular, in this context we deplore the loss of life which occurred in UNDOF’s area of operations on 15 May and 5 June. We hope that the circumstances which led to these tragic events, including the role of the Syrian Government, will be investigated thoroughly. We urge both parties to show restraint and to refrain from provocations so as to prevent an escalation of tensions along the ceasefire line. We are also concerned at the Secretary-General’s finding that anti-Government demonstrations in Syria have spread to the area of limitation on the Syrian side. We have repeatedly urged the Syrian Government to halt the violence, to respond constructively to the legitimate demands of the Syrian people, and to implement meaningful reforms. It has not done so. Instead, it has met legitimate demands for reform with brute force in which an estimated 1,400 people have died in the past three months. This is completely unacceptable. We are also very concerned that the Syrian Government continues to obstruct United Nations attempts to help alleviate the crisis and bring assistance to the Syrian people. President Al-Assad refuses to accept phone calls from the Secretary-General; his regime has barred access to humanitarian organizations; and the Human Rights Council- mandated fact-finding mission has been refused permission to enter the country and carry out its work. The Government’s actions are causing increasing numbers of Syrian refugees to flood over the borders into Turkey and Lebanon. The situation in Syria is not sustainable. If we genuinely want to see an end to the violence, this Council should send a clear message underlining our collective concern. The United Kingdom will therefore continue to press for a Security Council resolution on the wider situation in Syria.

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) was established in 1974. It has been operating for more than 37 years now. We salute the men and women who serve and have served to support UNDOF in the discharge of its mandate. We look forward to receiving in the next report of the Secretary-General an assessment of the capacity of UNDOF to ensure the appropriate operational capability in the future. On 15 May and 5 June, demonstrations in the UNDOF area of operations resulted in a number of civilian casualties that, to quote paragraph 3 of the Secretary-General’s report (S/2011/359), “put the long- held ceasefire in jeopardy”, an assessment we fully share. We deeply regret the loss of life and are gravely concerned about these events, which are the most serious incidents since the establishment of UNDOF’s mandate. Such events cannot go unreflected, which is why we deviated from the long-standing practice of reiterating the same resolution as in previous years. While we call on both parties, Israel and Syria, to fulfil their obligations under the 1974 status-of-forces agreement, we note that these demonstrations would not have been possible without Syrian consent, and we call on Syria to refrain from any action that could provoke further unrest. Throughout the country, Syrian authorities have been cracking down with the utmost brutality on demonstrations against their Government. On 15 May and 5 June, however, they actively encouraged demonstrations against Israel in one of the most sensitive areas of the country. Syria seems to be willing to risk an international conflict in order to divert attention from its repression of the legitimate calls for political freedom voiced by its population. Subsequent riots in the Yarmouk refugee camp indicate that Palestinian refugees have realized that they and their aspirations were manipulated and abused in this very dangerous game. The violence in Syria must stop. Imprisoned demonstrators must be freed, and instead of spreading fear, meaningful reforms must be implemented. Playing off parts of Syria’s multifaceted society against each other will not work. We join in the Secretary-General’s call to the Security Council to express itself on the situation in Syria. For us, this is long overdue.

The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has played a critical role in maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria since 1974, and we welcome today’s vote. The calm in UNDOF’s area of operations was seriously disrupted just weeks ago. The United States is deeply concerned about the grave events of 15 May and 5 June in the Golan Heights. We are further troubled by credible reports that the Syrian Government played a role in those demonstrations, which resulted in fatalities and injuries. These actions are a transparent ploy by the Syrian Government to incite violence along the disengagement line in order to divert public attention from its own indiscriminate killings and abuses of the human rights of the Syrian people. These events display clearly the regime’s hypocrisy. It uses the Palestinian cause to encourage violence and risk its long-standing ceasefire with Israel, while continuing to brutally repress the Syrian people and deny their call for reform and democratic change. The Syrian people have shown their courage in demanding a transition to democracy. The Syrian Government must stop shooting demonstrators and allow peaceful protests. It must release political prisoners and stop unjust arrests and torture. It must allow human rights monitors access and start a serious dialogue in order to advance a democratic transition. In operational terms, we are concerned about the increased restrictions on UNDOF’s movement in the area of separation. Both parties must respect the terms of the 1974 disengagement of forces agreement, including by preventing breaches of the area of separation. Finally, the United States commends the men and women of UNDOF for their dedication, and thanks Major-General Ecarma for his leadership.

We wish at the outset to emphasize the importance of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force’s operations, and to pay tribute to the sacrifices it has made. Today Lebanon joined the consensus in adopting resolution 1994 (2011). We would have preferred that it be technical in nature, as had always been the case in the past, when the resolution was accompanied by a presidential statement recalling the need to arrive at a comprehensive, peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East. We hope that this will be the case once again in future. We condemn Israel’s attempt to change demographics and to bring about significant changes in the occupied Syrian Golan area, particularly through the extension and expansion of settlements, which is a flagrant violation of international law, of General Assembly resolution 497 (1981) and the Fourth Geneva Convention. We call on Israel to implement Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and to withdraw completely from the occupied Golan Heights to the 1967 line. We stress the importance of arriving at a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the region of the Middle East.

Today the Security Council has reaffirmed its support for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). However, the resolution that was adopted today — resolution 1994 (2011) — is profoundly different from its predecessors in its response to the very disturbing developments in the situation in the Golan Heights. Since the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement, the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria had been the most stable borderline in the region; then, in rapid succession, on 15 May and 5 June, major incidents occurred that threatened the ceasefire observed since 1973, jeopardizing stability and security in the region. Today, therefore, the Council reminds the parties of their obligation to fully respect the 1974 Agreement and the Council’s resolutions. Those obligations involve preventing violations of the ceasefire line and the area of separation. The violations of 15 May and 5 June on the Syrian side show that the Syrian authorities did not respect those obligations. The Council also reminds the parties that they must show the utmost restraint, and France deeply regrets the many casualties of those incidents. UNDOF’s movements have been restricted and the Force attacked by the Syrian side. That is unacceptable. Freedom of movement for peacekeepers is, I should recall, a fundamental element in the deployment of peacekeeping operations, as a corollary of the State’s consent in accepting such a deployment on its territory. The parties must therefore fully guarantee UNDOF’s implementation of its mandate by ensuring its security and complete freedom of movement. That is the message that today’s resolution sends, reflecting the Council’s deep concern about the potential destabilizing influence in the region of the events in the Golan. The origin of those events is clear: the Secretary-General’s report (S/2011/359) shows that the Palestinian demonstrators in the area of separation benefited from being ignored by the Syrian authorities, even if they were not actually helped by them. The Syrian authorities were under the obligation to guarantee respect for the ceasefire by preventing violations of the line of disengagement and the area of separation. Those violations took place under the nose of the Syrian security forces, such that the report indicates that they controlled the demonstration. No one is seeking to deny the legitimacy of the Palestinians’ aspirations to achieve an independent, sovereign State, living side by side in peace with Israel, and France has always supported a resumption of negotiations along those lines. What the Council cannot accept is the hypocritical use by the Syrian regime of the aspirations of the Palestinian people and the resulting threat to regional stability. The incidents of 15 May and 5 June are a tragic manifestation of this attempt by the Syrian regime to distract international attention from the aspirations of its own people, which it is now crushing amid bloodshed. Let me be clear: no attempt at regional destabilization will distract our attention from the brutal and systematic repression of peaceful demonstrators in Syria. Quite the contrary: these actions, which threaten international peace and security, strengthen our determination to see the Council express its views on the Syrian situation. The stability of Syria is crucial for the Middle East, a region whose fragility the Council knows only too well. Such stability can only come about through an end to the violence against the demonstrators and the effective implementation of reforms that meet the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people to control their own destiny. Last week the Secretary-General invited the members of the Security Council to overcome their differences and to send this clear message to the Syrian authorities. The resolution that the Council has just adopted unanimously is evidence of the fact that it has maintained its capacity to react when international peace and security are at stake. We must draw lessons from this and respond to the call of the Secretary- General by working to adopt a resolution that would send to the Syrian authorities the only message that can preserve peace and stability, for which the Council has primary responsibility.

The Russian Federation was the initiator of the first draft resolution on the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights for another six months. We support the important stabilizing role played by the Force, and we believe that its presence in the area is necessary until there is an end to tension in the area. The Russian Federation, which voted in favour of the draft resolution, wanted to continue the long- standing practice by which members of the Council unanimously express, in a presidential statement, their support for the view of the Secretary-General that the situation in the region is unstable and will remain so until a comprehensive settlement is achieved that covers all aspects of the Middle East problem. While there was not unanimity in the Council on this, as there were doubts in this regard, we are confident that this important idea about the Middle East settlement was reflected in the resolution adopted today. We call on both sides to continue to cooperate actively with United Nations personnel acting under the Force’s mandate and within the framework of existing agreements to observe the ceasefire agreement; to assist the United Nations Force in carrying out its mission; and to ensure the security and freedom of movement of its staff. We believe that the capacities and resources of the United Nations Force are sufficient for it to carry out its tasks. In conclusion, I should like to emphasize that the resolution just adopted, of which Russia was a co-sponsor, is technical in nature and bears no relation to developments in the political situation in Syria or in Israel. Syria is not on the agenda of the Security Council because it does not pose a threat to international peace and security.

China is watching closely the situation in the Middle East. We commend the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for the very important role it has played in maintaining regional stability, and we support the smooth renewal of UNDOF’s mandate. The events in Syria are an internal affair of that country. It should be left to the parties concerned to find a proper solution through dialogue and consultation. The question of Syria and the renewal of the mandate of UNDOF are two distinct issues and should not be linked, so as to avoid complicating and politicizing the renewal of UNDOF’s mandate. At present, the situation in the Middle East is extremely complex and sensitive. The international community must work to maintain regional peace and stability and to facilitate the efforts of the parties concerned to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East that is based on the relevant Security Council resolutions.

I now give the floor to the representative of Israel.

Israel deeply appreciates the work carried out by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). The international community must continue to support its mission, which remains an important component of stability in our region. As we witness unprecedented turmoil in the Middle East, the need for all parties to fully respect the disengagement line between Israel and Syria has never been clearer. Yet after decades of relative quiet, we have witnessed several brazen attempts to breach the line from the Syrian side and raise tensions in our region. On 15 May, a large organized group of protesters tore down the Alpha fence in Syria, breached the disengagement line with Israel and carried out acts of violence against Israeli Defence Forces in the village of Majdal Chams. On 5 June, we saw another act of provocation on the line. Hundreds of individuals sought to breach the disengagement line with Israel in the areas of Majdal Chams and Quneitra. They tried to break through the fences in the area, threw Molotov cocktails and other large objects at the Israeli Defence Forces, and used other modes of violence to advance their goals. Despite its clear responsibilities, the Syrian regime did not prevent demonstrators from arriving at the disengagement line, or the attempts to cross it. To the contrary, these incidents, which could not have taken place without the knowledge of the Syrian authorities, reflect a blatant attempt by Syria to distract international attention from its violent repression of its own people. The Syrian regime’s fingerprints are all over these protests; to my mind, one does not have to be a New York City Police Department forensics expert to detect it. The events that followed the 5 June protests in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria provide one glaring example of Syrian involvement in the demonstration. I think Bashar Al-Assad is the only ophthalmologist I know who is actively engaged in blackening the vision of hope of his own people and, indeed, of the whole region. The Syrian-Israeli disengagement line has been quiet for decades. The Syrian regime cannot be allowed to disturb this quiet just because it does not want the cries of its own citizens to be heard. I want to thank, on behalf of the State of Israel, the President and all the people who have worked tirelessly in UNDOF over the years because their work, as I said, is an important component in the stability of our region.

The Security Council has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.