News (Consolidated) - UNSOM

SdeM: Thank you. This was an open session, so you I’m sure you have been following it and you heard what was said. So basically, what I can say is that the Security Council was now in the private session, completely supportive of the role that the UN is expected to have in following up both on…

The Secretary-General is deeply alarmed by the escalating situation in Eastern Ghouta and its devastating impact on civilians Nearly 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta have been subjected to airstrikes, shelling and bombardment. As a result of the siege of the area by the Syrian Government forces…

The Secretary-General welcomes the Security Council’s adoption of a resolution demanding a cessation of hostilities throughout Syria for at least 30 days. The Secretary-General stresses his expectation that the resolution will be immediately implemented and sustained, particularly to ensure the…

SdeM: Thank you, it is true I will be very short - not because of lack of politeness but I have a meeting which has already started with three members of the Security Council - but I wanted to come here directly now. As you can understand our focus is on the humanitarian situation, there is no…

The Secretary-General is concerned about continued reports of attacks throughout the besieged enclave of eastern Ghouta, which reportedly claimed the lives of more than 100 people on 5 March, as well as reports of shelling of the city of Damascus. An inter-agency convoy by the United Nations, the…

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura attended a meeting today with representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Turkey, hosted by the Russian Federation at its permanent mission in Geneva. He discussed with the three guarantors important…

Mr President and Dear Karel, 1. I am joining you by VTC from Brussels because I had very minor eye surgery on my right eye which had been affected in many missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, and it was useful to do so. The only consequence of it was that I am not allowed to fly until…

The Secretary-General met on 20 March with the Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and reiterated his support for its work in investigating allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and his confidence in the integrity and expertise of the…

SdeM: Thank you Minister Lavrov, dear friend - this meeting is very timely we are at a time where humanitarian needs in Syria are becoming even more pressing, humanitarian access for the UN to reach those in need is becoming urgent, and the protection of civilians all over Syria, so that is an…

SdeM: First of all, allow me to say a few words, this is the fourth time we are having a useful, and in my opinion, very constructive discussion with Minister Shoigu. With Minister Shoigu we discussed of course the humanitarian access to eastern Ghouta in particular, and Douma, which is, you know…

JE: Thank you very much. We had another meeting of the Humanitarian Task Force of the International Syria Support Group. The message to the Member States is the following: The marathon of pain, suffering and violence in Syria is far from over. So it is wrong that it seems to be fading from the…

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about renewed and intensive violence in Douma in Eastern Ghouta over the last 36 hours, following a period of relative calm. Reports include sustained airstrikes and shelling on Douma, killing of civilians, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and attacks…