Speech by H.E.Mr. Abdulrahman ALAHMED,
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Kingdom of Belgium,
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and
Head of the Saudi Mission to the European Union.
Brussels, 5 April, 2017
In the name of God the most Gracious the most Merciful
Mr Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to emphasize our welcome to hold such a conference and wish success in its work and deliberations.
The Kingdom affirms its firm position to preserve the unity and territorial integrity of Syria and to preserve its security and military institutions.
The government of my country sought, since the beginning, to find peace solutions necessary for Syria, and cooperated with other brothers and friends to avoid the human tragedy we are actually witnessing. In this regard, on the basis of international mandate, all parties of the Syrian opposition have been invited to attend the Conference held in Riyadh during the period 8-10 December, 2015 of which resulted the Syrian Supreme Commission of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces to represent the entrusted body with negotiations in the name of the Syrian Opposition, it was, at that time, welcomed regionally and internationally; it was a negotiation reference in all rounds held since that date; it still participates and shows serious cooperation and flexibility, witnessed by all despite the intransigence of the regime and its allies and their elusiveness, taking advantage of the negotiations to practice more crimes against the Syrian people.
The Kingdom expresses its support to the efforts of the Special Envoy of the United Nations General Secretary Mr. Staffan De Mistura, to find a political and peaceful solution, excluding Assad, and to proceed with the negotiations process between the Syrian parties in Geneva towards further progress to find solutions based upon Geneva conference (1) and the U.N. resolution 2254 and the international resolutions in this regard. The Kingdom hopes the implementation of agreements supported by international resolutions regarding the ceasefire, delivering the humanitarian aids, and the release of detainees and abductees by the regime and its militias.
Mr. Chairman,
The Government of my country calls upon the international community to stand firmly before the Iranian interference and its militias which act for a demographic change, Sectarianism and ethnic cleansing in Syria. It expresses its concern towards the continued systematic forced people displacements aiming to achieve a demographic change in some Syrian areas, and stresses the relevant bodies in the United Nations and the Humanitarian Organizations, to take the necessary measures to stop such operations.
It affirms as well, the importance of sanctioning perpetrators of war crimes in Syria, and in this regard, praises the U.N. General Assembly's resolution 2332 issued on 22/12/2016 calling to establish a retribution mechanism for war crimes in Syria; and calls for a prompt activation of this mechanism.
Mr. Chairman,
As in the humanitarian sector, the Kingdom participated to alleviate the suffering of Syrian refugees by hosting about 2,5 million Syrians treated as Saudi citizens in the medical and educational fields, enabling them for the work market.
Substantial humanitarian aid and relief were offered either through donor's conferences, or by national campaign programs to support the brothers in Syria, or through "King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre" whereas many of these programs are still under implementation both in Syria and in the neighboring countries (Turkey – Jordan – Lebanon). The total of humanitarian aids and reliefs has reached more than 780 million US Dollars in addition to the commitments taken through donors' conferences whereas during the last London conference, the Kingdom has declared its donation of 100 million dollars.
Mr. Chairman,
It is wrong to shorten the Syrian crisis in its human aspect although it is a painful, tragic and unprecedented appearance, but the ugliest aspect is the survival of the Syrian regime and its persistence in its criminal approach; only hours ago, the news circulated that the regime was using Sarin gas in the countryside of Idlib in a new criminal move showing the indifference of this regime to international decisions and demands.
THANK YOU MR CHAIRMAN
