Syria: political process “has not so far delivered for the Syrian people"-Security Council Briefing

Advocating for quotas for women in Syrian political bodies “of at least thirty percent,” the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said in over nearly 12 years of conflict, “there is almost no indignity Syria’s women and girls have not suffered.” Briefing the Security Council today (25 Oct), Pedersen said, “poverty and malnutrition; detention, disappearance and abduction; sexual assault and rape; forced and early marriages; violence of multiple kinds when bearing children; denial of education and livelihoods. Women civil society activists are too often targeted by violence when attempting to engage in public life. Women political and civic leaders struggle to secure their rightful seat at negotiating tables.” He said, “we seek to create opportunities where issues of importance to women can be raised, including in the Constitutional Committee,” adding that he looked forward to engaging the Women’s Advisory Board next month in Geneva. The Special Envoy said, “tragically” the Syrian political process “has not so far delivered for the Syrian people, and they continue to suffer, not least from acute violence.” Even as a strategic stalemate persists, he stressed, “the conflict remains very active across Syria.”


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