S/PV.9949 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2025/421, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by the Russian Federation and the United States of America. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2025/350, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2782 (2025). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.

My country voted in favour of resolution 2782 (2025). We emphasize the essential role played by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to preserve peace and security in the Middle East. We believe that the renewal of its mandate is necessary to preserve stability, which is fragile. In that context, my country would like to thank the Russian Federation and the United States of America, the two penholder delegations, for submitting the resolution adopted today. However, we regret the narrow technical approach that was taken, which was limited to a cosmetic technical update. The decision adopted in paragraph 7 is asking for the lifting of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions as soon as sanitary conditions permit, but those circumstances now belong in the past. In paragraph 2, there is surprisingly mention of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, and that military structure has not been in existence for more than five months. The approach taken unfortunately reflects the paralysis of the Council in the light of the violations by the Israeli occupation. In that regard we need practical measures, as the Security Council was incapable of including them in the text. The resolution adopted does not reflect the new situation in the region of operations of UNDOF. It is not consistent with the report of the Secretary-General. In the second paragraph of his report (S/2025/350), the Secretary-General states How can the Council adopt a resolution which does not take into account the Israeli violations? In paragraph 2, it underscores that there should be no military activity in the area of separation, including the military operations by the Syrian Arab Armed Forces. How can a resolution refer to parties which are no longer in existence, not emphasize the only party which is currently in violation of international law and United Nations resolutions, and not take into account the daily crimes committed by the Israeli occupation in the Syrian territory, be it killing, wounding, abduction or the destruction of houses or of livelihoods? The report of the Secretary-General emphasized those violations in detail, but today’s resolution does not reflect them. The Israeli occupation does not hide its intentions but is clearly conducting operations, including incursions into Syrian territories and beyond the area of separation in the direction of the Yarmouk basin, deploying forces in Jabal Al-Shaykh. Meanwhile, the Council remains a silent observer. The resolutions of the Council must reflect the situation on the ground. The responsibility to arrive at a serious text lies with all Council members, especially the delegations of the penholders. United Nations reports clearly call for the need to adapt peace operations to the evolving realities, and UNDOF is not an exception to that rule. In conclusion, my country would like to reiterate its steadfast position that the Syrian Golan is an occupied territory, and any presence of the occupation there or any attempt to modify its legal status is null and void. The Security Council mustfully shoulder its responsibilities, and its resolutions and actions must be based on what is happening on the ground to ensure there is justice and not impunity.