A New Approach, or a New UN Envoy!

After all the years of suffering that Syrians have endured, Mr. Geir Pedersen in his speech before the UN Security Council last Thursday, April 25, 2024, proposed a contemplative and noteworthy suggestion. He called for “exploring a new comprehensive approach that addresses a full range of issues,” speaking about the entire Syrian file!

We, the advocates of adhering to international benchmarks, international law, and international legitimacy, no longer know what to say to our people who have been suffering inside Syria and in refugee-hosting countries for years, waiting for a breakthrough in the complex scene that signals hope for overcoming this stagnation, which is measured by them on a scale of oppression, extreme hardship, and prolonged suffering!!

We can no longer face the inflated state among violent groups and their unaware discourse of the dangers of employment and adoption, exploiting the UN’s weakness in the Syrian file and the absence of a will to resolve! Not to mention the proliferation of weapons in the hands of the young and old alike, which could explode the situation and take everyone into a bloody unknown.

Here we ask, what is the way to explore a new approach other than the political solution and the implementation of United Nations Resolution 2254, which calls for the formation of a fully empowered transitional governing body?

Is the suffering of the Syrian people just a testing ground for Mr. Pedersen, where he shifts from one approach to another without a specified timeframe or clear UN vision?

Then, what is this approach that can now be activated in the face of Mr. Pedersen’s failure to break the ice of the Syrian crisis?

We wonder, will the new approach be to divide Syria into four regions according to the current de facto authorities, turning Syria into four countries with four peoples and four governments recognized by the United Nations?

Or by disowning the Syrian regime and Syrian opposition and all de facto authorities, and calling for a third way that deals with the current reality as it is, working simultaneously on early revival efforts for the Syrian people to allow them a bit of food and drink and the possibility of any life, however it may be?!

Or perhaps it’s about seeking a new Geneva conference with a new resolution that buries the proposal to establish a fully empowered transitional governing body, thereby giving Mr. Pedersen relief from the efforts to establish such an authority and allowing the Syrian regime to find its lifeline from its consequences!

Then why not have the new approach be to place all of Syria under a special mandate by the United Nations?
Can we not question this approach and proposal?

A new approach, in any color and any form, can be applied in Syria, if the logical and correct solution, which we have worked on for years, could not be enhanced by Mr. Pedersen!

And why not have the new approach be a recognition of his failure and those behind him, leaving the field to another genius to take on the responsibility of working on the true political solution in Syria?
Could that not be the correct approach? The Syrian Future Movement wonders?

Evading the responsibility of ethical and historical significance, and throwing solutions into the unknown to take Syrians back to square one in search of new decisions, a new way, or a different approach, is nothing but a colossal failure not only for Mr. Pedersen alone but also for the UN system, international law, and international legitimacy.

It is nothing but a weakening and killing of the Syrian civil and political trajectory, feeding the violent and nihilistic discourse that will increase the Syrians’ descent into an endless conflict quagmire.

As it seems, what we need in Syria is not just a new approach! We might indeed need it, but we need a new special envoy who performs his duties decisively, professionally, and skillfully, an envoy who resigns when he is unable to make any progress without throwing his responsibility into distant boxes.

We need a revolutionary new approach that rekindles our cause and its prominence in all international forums, addressing the spirit of the youth of the Syrian revolution and resonating with their mind and conscience.

We need a new approach that lets us, as Syrians, take control of ourselves instead of being tossed around by those who have no stake in our cause.

Dr. Zaher Ihssan Baadarani
Presidency office
Article
Syrian Future Movement (SFM)