Ten years ago, the violent suppression of peaceful popular demonstrations in Syria set the country on the path to a horrific war.

After a decade of conflict, in the middle of a global pandemic, and faced with a steady stream of new crises, Syria has fallen off the front page.

And yet the situation remains a living nightmare.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have died.  Millions have been displaced.  Countless others remain illegally detained and often tortured, missing, disappeared, or living in uncertainty and deprivation.  
 
For ten years, the world has watched Syria spiral into destruction and bloodshed.

In that time, Syrians have been subjected to human rights violations on a massive and systematic scale.

The parties to the conflict have also repeatedly violated international humanitarian law, so far with absolute impunity.

Bombs and mortars have rained down on homes, schools, hospitals and markets.

Chemical weapons have caused unspeakable suffering.

Cities have been placed under siege, starving civilians.

Parties have imposed indefensible restrictions on humanitarian aid.

And for much of the civil war, substantial areas of the country were controlled by Security Council-designated terrorist groups that subjected many Syrians to unimaginable violence and repression.
 
It is impossible to fully fathom the extent of the devastation in Syria, but its people have endured some of the greatest crimes the world has witnessed this century.

The scale of the atrocities shocks the conscience.

Their perpetrators must be held to account if there is to be sustainable peace in Syria.

The horrors of the conflict have spared no Syrian family.

Around [half] the country’s children have never lived a day without war.

Compounding the suffering is an economic collapse and soaring poverty caused by a combination of conflict, corruption, sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some 60 per cent of Syrians are at risk of hunger this year.

It is imperative that we continue to reach all Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance.

More humanitarian access is needed.  Intensified cross-line and cross-border deliveries are essential to reach everyone in need everywhere.

This is why I have repeatedly urged the Security Council to achieve consensus on this crucial matter.
 
The UN will continue its pursuit of a negotiated political settlement in line with Security Council resolution 2254. A first step on that path should be tangible progress in the Constitutional Committee. 

The parties have the opportunity to demonstrate a willingness to find common ground and recognize the need for all Syrians, whom they represent, to move beyond a perpetual state of conflict.

This is the path that will lead to a solution that meets the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians, creates the conditions necessary [for the] return of refugees in safety and dignity, and respects Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

It is a process in which Syrian women and men must play their full part, and in which ultimately all Syrian society must be engaged.

It will require bridging the current divides in the international community through sustained and robust diplomatic dialogue.

Failure to do so will only condemn the Syrian people to more despair.  And we simply cannot let that happen.

Thank you.