Merve Aydogan
10 December 2024•Update: 11 December 2024
HAMILTON, Canada
The UN on Tuesday noted a disengagement agreement amid Israeli attacks on Syria, denouncing any attacks against Syria's territorial integrity.
"It is very clear that we stand against any violation of the territorial integrity of Syria. We are against these types of attacks," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.
Describing the collapse of more than 60 years of the Assad regime as "a turning point for Syria," Dujarric said: "It should not be used by its neighbors to encroach on the territory of Syria. It should be used by all those in the region and beyond to support the Syrian people."
He urged a Syrian-led transition that is "inclusive, where all the myriads of minorities that are in Syria feel safe and feel they are part of the Syrian nation."
Asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks that claimed that "the Golan Heights will forever be an inseparable part of the State of Israel," Dujarric said the UN considers the "Golan Heights as occupied territory."
"We were very clear about the violation of the (1974) disengagement agreement following the IDF (Israeli military_ occupation of the buffer zone," he added.
The 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria established the borders of the buffer zone and demilitarized area.
Israel occupied most of the Golan Heights during the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed the territory in a move never recognized by the international community.
On Sunday, the Israeli army imposed "closed military zones" in the occupied Golan Heights after the sudden fall of the Assad regime.
Asked about whether Israel would comply with UN warnings and the disengagement agreement, Dujarric told Anadolu that the UN cannot "predict the future" but can "appeal to all to ensure the safety and the stability of Syria and the respect for international law and the respect for the territorial integrity of Syria."
Describing Israel's relationship with the UN as "complex," he said that the UN's political, humanitarian, peacekeeping communication channels "remain open" with Israel.
In response to a question about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an anti-regime group in Syria that can be removed from a terror list, he said that such processes would be done through the ombudsman of the Security Council.
On UN Security Council Resolution 2254, Dujarric said it is "still very much on the books."
Resolution 2254, adopted in 2015, calls for a Syrian-led political process facilitated by the UN to establish a credible, inclusive and non-sectarian government, as well as setting a timeline and process for drafting a new constitution.
Saying that there have been many changes since the adoption of the resolution, Dujarric reaffirmed the UN's commitment to "help the Syrian people."
"We're all still looking for a bit of clarity," he added.
Asked about chemical weapons in Syria, Dujarric said: "We remain very much in contact with our counterparts in the technical secretariat of the OPCW -- the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons."
Saying that chemical weapons in Syria have "always been a serious concern" for the UN, Dujarric said: "It's important that all parties active in Syria do whatever they can to ensure that whatever chemical weapons remain, are safe, stowed away, and, of course, never, ever used."
Dujarric further commented on the release of prisoners in Syria, and noted the importance of keeping documents related to those prisoners "safe" to ensure "accountability through judicial process."
"We want to make sure that our human rights colleagues are able to go to Damascus as quickly as possible," he said, adding that there are a "number of mechanisms" that include the UN's Human Rights Commission.
