The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Syria Geir O. Pedersen said the worsening security, economic and humanitarian situation in Syria requires urgent concerted efforts from all parties to the conflict to resume a Syrian-led political process.
Briefing the UN Security Council via video link on the situation in Syria, he warned that the Syrian people both inside and outside Syria continue to suffer acutely from the conflict in all its dimensions.
“The economic situation has gotten worse, with the Syrian pound losing over 80 percent in three months of its value, and prices from essential goods spiraling out of control,” he told the Council on Wednesday as it took up Syria file once again this month. While minimum State salaries have been doubled to roughly USD 13 per month, a monthly food basket in June cost at least USD 81, according to the World Food Program (WFP).
“Syria cannot fix its economy while it is in a state of conflict,” the special envoy stressed.
He welcomed the understanding reached on the continued use for the next six months of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing to deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to millions of people in need in northwest Syria.
Nonetheless, this year’s Humanitarian Response Plan is funded at 25 percent, he reported, underscoring that any adverse effects of sanctions that could aggravate the predicament must be avoided. It is a simple fact that no one actor or group of actors can determine the outcome of the conflict or bring about the kind of steps needed for a political solution to emerge, he emphasized.
Voicing concern that, for over a year, the intra-Syrian political process has been in a deep freeze, he underscored that “the only path out of this is a political process that involves the Syrian parties themselves, in line with resolution 2254 (2015).”
Source: Kuwait News Agency