Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,I will start by apologising for the fact that I will be extremely impolite.  I will speak and I will leave, which is something I hate to do, but I have a plane to catch.  So, my apologies for this horrible behaviour. …

[Scroll down for all-English and all-French versions]Mr. President of the General Assembly, Mr. President of the Human Rights Council, High Commissioner,Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,We begin this session under the weight of a grim milestone — the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of…

  A hybrid Special Meeting will be held at the Palais des Nations on Tuesday, 8 December to mark the annual observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Tatiana Valovaya, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, will open the meeting with…

AS DELIVERED   Thank you, Mr. President,   Today, I am briefing you from Beirut.   1. As we mark this month twenty years since the passage of Security Council resolution 1325, let me recall the central role that Syrian women must play and are indeed playing in the political…

  Governing Council of the United Nations Compensation Commission to Hold its Eighty-seventh Session on 28 October   The United Nations Compensation Commission today made available $ 230 million to the Government of the State of Kuwait towards the Commission’s remaining claim with an…

Mr. Geir O. Pedersen: Thank you, as Jenifer said, for joining us this morning and for those of you online, thank you for also joining. As you know, it has taken us a little bit of time before we could actually tell you that the meeting will take place, so we appreciate your patience, when it comes…

Arabic versionAs Delivered Thank you so much Mr. President (Amb. Dian Triansyah Djani, Indonesia) 1. As I brief you today, I remain acutely conscious of the deep suffering of the Syrian people, who in this decade experienced death, injury, displacement, destruction, detention, torture, terror,…

Ms. Najat Rochdi, Senior Humanitarian Adviser to the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, convened the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) Humanitarian Task Force via video-conference today. Mr. Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, joined through video-link and reiterated his…

We welcome the statement by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on 24 March expressing support for the Secretary-General's appeal for an immediate global ceasefire to facilitate the global response to COVID-19, and announcing the SDF’s commitment to avoid engaging in military action. The Secretary-…

The Syrian conflict has entered its tenth year, yet peace still remains far too elusive. The brutal conflict has exacted an unconscionable human cost and caused a humanitarian crisis of monumental proportions. Millions of civilians continue to face protection risks, over half the population…