UN News Today 18 December 2024 |

UN negotiator leaves Damascus, describes ‘a lot of hope’ for a new Syria

The UN’s Special Envoy for Syria concluded talks with the transitional authority in Damascus on Wednesday, describing people’s hopes that the end of the Assad regime will mark a new peaceful and democratic start for the country.

Geir Pedersen acknowledged that it has been “only 11 days” since Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters – or HTS – toppled President Bashar al-Assad, with the help of other opposition forces.

But he insisted that following his many encounters in the Syrian capital, “there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria”.

In addition to meeting HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, the UN Special Envoy said that he had met “other armed factions”, who are part of the Syrian Negotiation Commission (SNC) – which represents a range of opposition delegations – along with families of Syria’s missing persons, civil society representatives and women activists.

Mr. Pedersen stressed that after this “transitional period”, Syrians should look forward to free and fair elections and a new constitution to “ensure that there is a…new social contract for all Syrians in line with Security Council resolution 2254.

The Special Envoy noted that obstacles to a peaceful future in Syria remain, including fighting in the northeast – although a truce “has been renewed and… seems to be holding”, he said, while also highlighting the need for immediate humanitarian assistance and investment to rebuild the Syrian economy so that “hopefully”, the process of ending sanctions against the country and new administration, can begin. 

Winter rains and lack of aid access worsen shelter ordeal for Gazans

Nearly one million Gazans risk spending the winter without adequate shelter as UN agencies struggle to provide cold weather assistance, amid ongoing Israeli bombardment, repeated evacuation orders and aid restrictions, they warned on Wednesday.

In an update, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, stressed that attacks on civilian infrastructure have not stopped, “particularly in North Gaza”, where conditions are appalling at Kamal Adwan Hospital – and where school buildings have been attacked 61 times since 6 October 2024.

OCHA reported that flooding has already caused damage to makeshift shelters across the Gaza Strip, but humanitarian teams have only been able to provide assistance to 285,000 people to carry out repairs since September, because deliveries of materials into the enclave remain so limited.

At least 945,000 others now require urgent winterization support to protect them from the rain and cold weather,” the UN aid office said.

It stressed that waiting outside Gaza are tens of thousands of waterproofing kits and tarpaulins to cover the needs of about 400,000 people; but these would take two months to be brought in, as only 10 shelter trucks are allowed in per week.

South Sudan: arbitrary arrests and detentions include 87 children 

To South Sudan, where women and girls are among those being arrested and detained unlawfully for refusing arranged marriages, UN rights investigators said on Wednesday.

A new report from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, and the UN Mission in South Sudan, UNSMISS, found that a total of 1,140 civilians were arbitrarily arrested and detained between January 2023 and May this year; most were men, but that number also included at least 162 women and 87 children.

In many cases their detention was on the orders of a customary court presided over by a traditional chief, for refusing an arranged marriage, seeking divorce, or for alleged adultery, the report’s authors said.

Women and girls are often detained to compel the bride’s family to return her dowry to her future husband.

Other detainees have included those with disabilities – who “have often been detained without having committed an offence – and political opposition members.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, appealed to the South Sudanese authorities to release all those held arbitrarily and to continue efforts to reform the country’s judicial system.

“It is concerning that individuals have been arrested and detained – in many cases for alleged conduct that does not amount to criminal offences,” he said.

The report’s authors highlighted how the rule of law remains “weak” in South Sudan where State institutions “have been weakened” amid ongoing targeted killings, conflict-related sexual violence that disproportionately affects women and girls, along with looting and movement restrictions.

Daniel Johnson, UN News

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