Opening remarks by Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, at informal briefing to the General Assembly by the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Syria Mr de Mistura
19 November 2015
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, good morning to you all.
Recent terrorist attacks around the world have shocked and saddened all of us. They have demonstrated a heinous disregard for innocent human lives and for the values that we cherish in this Organization.
It is important to remember, however, that the ordinary people of Syria, for almost five years now, have been exposed to a level of conflict and violence that has resulted in unconscionable death, destruction and human suffering. It is deeply, deeply troubling to think that over 250,000 have already died in connection with this crisis, that more than 4 million people have fled the country, close to 7 million are internally displaced and over 12 million are in need of humanitarian assistance.
It is against this backdrop that many of us have been encouraged to hear that a new diplomatic effort, launched just a few weeks ago in Vienna, is providing a glimmer of hope for a comprehensive solution to the Syria crisis.
The momentum around these talks must not be lost and they require the full support of the international community. We must not fail the people of Syria any longer and we must do all we can to given peace, justice and reconciliation a fair chance.
I therefore thank the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Mr de Mistura for accepting my invitation to brief the Membership about these latest developments.
Thank you.