Security Council – SecCo work under Syrian presidency (June 2002) – Letter from Syria (excerpts)

Letter dated 26 July 2002 from the Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic

to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council

Please find attached the assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic in June 2002 (see annex).

I should be grateful if you would arrange to have this letter and the attached assessment circulated as a document of the Security Council.

 (Signed) Mikhail Wehbe

 Ambassador

  Permanent Representative

Annex to the letter dated 26 July 2002 from the Permanent Representative
of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations addressed to the President
of the Security Council

Assessment of the work of the Security Council during the presidency of the
Syrian Arab Republic (June 2002)

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The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question 

On 6 June the members of the Council held consultations in which they discussed ongoing developments in the Middle East in response to the request of the Permanent Observer of Palestine that it consider the tense situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. Members of the Council stressed the need for compliance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and for action to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

On 13 June the Council held a public meeting on the situation in the Middle East in response to a letter from the Permanent Representative of Bahrain to the United Nations requesting, on behalf of the Arab Group, that an immediate meeting be convened to consider the grave and deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem. Thirty-five speakers participated in the meeting, including the 15 members of the Security Council. In their statements, representatives expressed concern at the deteriorating situation in the region, stressed the need for international efforts to focus on devising a political solution in order to reach a peaceful settlement, and called upon the Security Council to meet its responsibility to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East in accordance with the relevant resolutions.

On 20 June the Council held a private meeting under the presidency of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic. At the commencement of the meeting the Secretary-General gave a briefing in which he stated that the situation in the Middle East was dangerously unstable and that the political, security and economic dimensions of the problem were today much worse than they had been at any time since 1967. The Secretary-General then identified what he called the basic issues that formed the core of the conflict in the Middle East.

In his briefing, the Secretary-General pointed out the need to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace on all tracks of the peace process in the Middle East, that such a peace must be based on the land-for-peace formula, and that this required progress to be made on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks as well as the Israeli-Palestinian track. The text of the Secretary-General’s briefing was circulated.

Speaking in his capacity as the representative of the Syrian Arab Republic, the Minister referred to the preoccupation of the Security Council with addressing the situation in the Middle East and his country’s understanding of the Council’s importance and the tasks entrusted to it under the Charter of the United Nations. He then reviewed the history of developments and events in the region and the reasons why international efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region had failed.

Mr. Al-Shara’ stated that it had been Syria’s acceptance of the United States initiative launched by the administration of President George Bush in 1991 that had made it possible for the Madrid peace conference to be convened in November that year. He then spoke of the Arab peace initiative endorsed by the Beirut Summit, which had received widespread international support and had been welcomed by the United States of America, the European Union and the Russian Federation. The Quartet in its joint statement of 10 April 2002 (S/2002/369) had also welcomed it as “a significant contribution towards a comprehensive peace, including Syria and Lebanon”.

Mr. Al-Shara’ concluded by affirming the need to achieve a comprehensive peace that would bring security and stability to all parties.

At the request of one of the members and with the agreement of the Council, the full text of the Minister’s statement was circulated as a Security Council document.

Members of the Security Council welcomed the fact that Mr. Al-Shara’ had presided at the private meeting, and they affirmed that the presentation he had given of Syria’s position with respect to all aspects of the situation in the Middle East had been useful. They also expressed satisfaction with the Secretary-General’s briefing. In their statements, all members of the Council reviewed all aspects of the dangerous situation in the region and the positions of their countries in its regard. The Minister responded to their observations and questions.

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