Syria
Expected Council Action
In October, the Security Council will hold a meeting on the political process and the humanitarian situation in Syria.
Key Recent Developments
On 20 September, Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen and Head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva and Director of the Coordination Division Ramesh Rajasingham briefed the Council on the political and humanitarian tracks in Syria, respectively. Pedersen described the continuing hostilities in the country, including drone strikes by pro-government forces; attacks by the Security Council-listed terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the north-west; sustained attacks by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh); and continuing tensions and violence in the north-east and south-west. He stressed the urgent need for de-escalation throughout the country leading to a nationwide ceasefire and a cooperative approach to combat Security Council-listed terrorist groups.
With regard to the resumption of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, Pedersen said that efforts have continued in order to secure agreement from both Syrian parties and a host government on an alternative venue to Geneva. (The Constitutional Committee has not met since June 2022 because Russia, a close ally of Syria, opposed Geneva as the venue following Switzerland’s imposition of sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.) Despite several appeals over time, his call for the Syrian parties to prepare for future discussions has not gained traction.
On 10 September, the Arab ministerial liaison committee that was established following Syria’s readmission to the League of Arab States (LAS) on 7 May 2023 to liaise with the Syrian government and seek a solution to the Syrian crisis—comprising Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and LAS Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit—held its second meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad in Cairo. In a post on X, the Jordanian foreign ministry announced that the committee decided to form a team of experts to study the issues on which the committee is engaging with the Syrian government, such as the return of Syrian refugees and drug manufacturing and smuggling. The team of experts is expected to meet in Baghdad, although the date of the meeting had yet to be decided at the time of writing.
In his remarks at the 20 September Council meeting, Rajasingham highlighted the impact of the prolonged conflict on children in Syria, noting that approximately eight million children in the country require humanitarian assistance. Since June, nearly a third of the 105 civilian deaths verified by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) due to hostilities and explosive remnants of war have been children. He described the recent work undertaken by the UN and partner agencies to deliver humanitarian aid across the country. In early September, the UN conducted a cross-line assessment mission to Al-Kisrah, on the eastern side of the Euphrates River in Deir-ez-Zor governorate, where more than 85 percent of the population needs humanitarian assistance, including more than 22,000 people living in displacement sites. (A cross-line mission goes across domestic conflict lines from Syrian government-held areas into areas outside government control.) Humanitarian teams also conducted several cross-line missions to assess and begin repairs on the Alouk water station, providing water to more than 600,000 people living in Al-Hasakah governorate. He added that challenges persist in carrying out other cross-line missions, including to Idlib, Ras al-Ain, Tel Abiad, and Rukban.
Tensions have continued to intensify across the region against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war that erupted on 7 October 2023. The escalation has resulted in increased violence spilling over into Syria, where sites have frequently been the target of attacks. Israel and the US have historically targeted positions associated with Iranian forces and affiliated militants in Syria, and Iran-linked proxy groups have been accused of attacking US forces stationed in the region. On 17 and 18 September, thousands of electronic communication devices, primarily used by Hezbollah members, detonated across Lebanon, resulting in at least 37 deaths and over 3,400 injuries. Similar explosions were also reported in Syria, with some sources indicating 14 injuries, although the details remain uncertain. While Israel has not taken responsibility for the explosions, the attacks have been widely attributed to Israel. (For more information, see the brief on Lebanon in our October Monthly Forecast and 19 September What’s in Blue story.)
On 8 September, Israel reportedly carried out airstrikes and a commando raid near Masyaf in Hama province, targeting multiple Syrian military sites and a weapons production facility. Media reports suggest that this facility is linked to Hezbollah and was staffed by several Iranian military experts involved in weapons production at the time of the attack. According to Syrian state media, 18 people were killed and 37 were injured in this attack. On 20 September, an airstrike that targeted a vehicle near Damascus killed Abu Haidar al-Khafaji, a commander of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Iraqi militia. The group, known for its involvement in attacks against US forces in the Middle East, has vowed to fight Israel over the explosions of communication devices in Lebanon.
Human Rights-Related Developments
On 10 September, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI) presented its latest report during the 57th session of the Human Rights Council, covering the developments from 1 January to 30 June. The report noted that the COI has reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian government “continued to commit acts of torture and ill-treatment against individuals in state custody”, including practices resulting in death in detention, arbitrary imprisonment, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances, thereby confirming persistent patterns of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The COI urged the parties to the conflict to immediately cease all indiscriminate and direct attacks on civilians, cease torture and ill-treatment in all places of detention, and release all arbitrarily detained individuals. It also recommended that member states enhance support for humanitarian efforts in Syria and review their sanction policies to eliminate negative effects on humanitarian actors and civilians.
Key Issues and Options
An important issue for Council members is the ongoing hostilities in Syria. Continuing violence and the lack of accountability threaten to destabilise the country further. The ISIL/Da’esh remains one of the key security threats in Syria. The deteriorating socioeconomic conditions in the country are also of concern.
Determining how the Council can address the spillover effects of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and de-escalate rising tensions in the region, including in Syria, is also an issue of utmost significance for the Council.
As well, a key issue is how to alleviate the growing humanitarian needs throughout the country. The Syrian refugee crisis is also of paramount importance. Since the start of the civil war in 2011, approximately 6.8 million Syrians have sought refuge in third countries, including Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Türkiye. Concerns regarding safety and security within Syria, as well as the lack of livelihoods, continue to be significant obstacles to the return of refugees. In addition, the recent escalation of hostilities in the region has left the Syrian refugees in peril. Since October 2023, 33 Syrian nationals are reported to have been killed and 113 injured by aerial strikes in Lebanon, which hosts approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees. In light of the recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which began on 23 September and had resulted in the deaths of over 500 people at the time of writing, UNHCR reported that thousands of Lebanese and Syrian people are fleeing Lebanon for Syria in desperation, including by foot. (For more information, see the 25 September What’s in Blue story.)
One option would be for the co-chairs of the Informal Expert Group on the Protection of Civilians (Switzerland and the UK) to hold a meeting on the situation in Syria to receive briefings from relevant UN entities about the impact of the conflict on civilians.
The need to break the underlying political impasse in the country and support the Special Envoy’s work in this regard is another key issue. The Council could consider holding a private meeting with stakeholders to discuss the impediments to the resumption of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, including the issue of venue, and support Pedersen’s efforts to reinvigorate the political process. (A private meeting is a closed, formal meeting format; unlike closed consultations, non-Council member states are allowed to participate in this format.)
Council and Wider Dynamics
Over the years, Syria has been one of the most divisive files on the Council’s agenda. China and Russia are supportive of the Syrian government, emphasising the need to respect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and drawing connections between unilateral coercive measures on Syria and the country’s challenging humanitarian and economic situations. In contrast, the P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and other like-minded members criticise the government for violating international humanitarian law and human rights law, arbitrarily detaining people, not engaging meaningfully in political dialogue, and not creating conditions for the safe and voluntary return of refugees. Ensuring accountability for violence against civilians also remains a key issue for these members.
Council members also have diverging views on normalising ties with the Syrian government. While the US and like-minded members continue to oppose engagement with the government, China and Russia have voiced support for the normalisation of ties.
The US maintains that it would not normalise relations with the Assad government, absent authentic progress towards a political solution to the underlying conflict. It has called for any engagement to be focused on human rights and improving the humanitarian conditions and the security situation.
According to media reports, in July, foreign ministers of eight European Union (EU) countries—Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia—sent a letter to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles, which suggested reviewing the EU’s approach to Syria. The letter called for a “more active, outcome-driven, and operational Syria policy”, allowing EU countries to increase their political leverage and the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance. The letter apparently identified ten areas for consideration, including appointment of an EU-Syria envoy, strategic exchange with Arab countries, further development of the EU’s early recovery approach, and creating conditions for the return of migrants to Syria. In late July, Italy also announced its decision to appoint an ambassador to Damascus. At present, Damascus hosts six EU embassies—Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.
Switzerland is the penholder on the Syria humanitarian file.
| Security Council Resolutions | |
| 18 December 2015S/RES/2254 | This was the first resolution focused exclusively on a political solution to the Syrian crisis. It was adopted unanimously. |
