On December 8, Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad and his family fled Damascus just as it fell to rebel fighters, ending the 54-year rule of the Assad family. His fall and subsequent exile in Russia spell new hope for the people of Syria.
“This is a historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better life,” said U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “After more than a decade of conflict and corruption, their needs are extensive. And the United States is committed to mobilizing global support.”
“Last week, Secretary Blinken, together with our partners in the Aqaba Joint Contact Group, announced a set of principles that will help guide international efforts to support the Syrian people as they write their next chapter. And let me be clear: it is theirs to write.”
“Together with our partners, we will engage with Syrian groups to support an independent and sovereign Syria that respects human rights,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
“The regime may have fallen, but the dire humanitarian needs of millions of Syrians remain. [Thus], we call for additional financial support for UN agencies and aid organizations.”
Some 6 million Syrians are currently displaced in host countries, according to Relief Web. They also require protection and basic services. “Indeed,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, “some Syrian refugees and asylum seekers may be even more vulnerable. And so, all states must uphold their obligations to refugees.”
Furthermore, Syria’s leaders will no longer pose a threat to their own people. Similarly, Syria should have peaceful relations with its neighbors.
“The United States will continue to support Syria’s neighbors, including Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Türkiye, and Israel, should any new threats arise from Syria during this period of transition,” she said.
Finally, Syria must not become a base for terrorists.
“That requires securing detention facilities and displaced persons camps in northeast Syria, which hold nearly 9,000 ISIS fighters, and that means continuing to repatriate detained and displaced foreign nationals,” said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.
“For so long, it might have seemed that Assad’s violent, repressive tactics would pay off, that his grip on power was unshakable. … Especially since Russia did everything in its power to prop up Assad’s brutal regime. But Russia’s and Assad’s campaign of cruelty ultimately failed. The regime has fallen. And Syria has a chance for a new beginning.”
