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Qatar has announced $100 million as this year’s contribution to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.
In a statement at the Brussels III Conference “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani said Qatar has fulfilled all its commitments made during the political consultations and donor conferences and has supported the needs of the Syrians since the outbreak of the crisis.
“Qatar is a reliable partner and will spare no effort to provide all support and assistance to the Syrian brothers in coordination with its international partners and in accordance with international law,” Sheikh Mohammed added.
He said alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people requires the international community to fulfil its humanitarian obligations, provide necessary assistance and take effective measures to ensure the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 2165 on the facilitation and access of humanitarian assistance to all affected areas in Syria.
“Unfortunately, since the beginning of the crisis in Syria in 2011, we have been looking at alarming numbers and facts, which confirm that the destruction is the main headline of what is happening in Syria, where the number of dead exceeded 500,000. There are nearly 12 million people, who are displaced and are refugees, and there is massive destruction of property and infrastructure in most areas of Syria,” he said.
“Despite the efforts exerted on the political and humanitarian tracks of the conflict in Syria, there has not been much change in the reality, which reveals the continued apathy of the conduct of the international community, in light of the behaviour of the Syrian government and the grave crimes committed daily by it against its own citizens,” he said.
The FM called on the international community to take all measures to bring to justice the perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria.
“Achieving justice and accountability is an essential part of sustainable peace in Syria and a guarantee for the protection of human rights,” he said, adding that since 2011, a serious case of impunity has been witnessed because of the failure of the Security Council to refer Syria’s file to the International Criminal Court, a matter which led to an escalation and intensification of violations and contributed to the loss of the rights of victims and the lack of criminal justice.
The FM said there is an international will to deal with impunity, praising judicial proceedings by some countries such as France and Germany against members of the Syrian regime.
Qatar, he said, appreciates the efforts of the International, Impartial and independent mechanism on Syria to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the most serious crimes committed in Syria, particularly in cooperation with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria and civil society organisations to exchange information and evidence to document violations.
He urged the member states of the mechanism to cooperate and provide information which will undoubtedly contribute to ensuring justice for the victims of war crimes.
The FM thanked all the countries that provided financial support to the mechanism, hoping that all countries will fulfil their pledges and provide support in the future to enable the mechanism and guarantee its independence.
He expressed Qatar’s desire to activate the role of the international mechanism, achieve tangible results, complete the next report and discuss it in the General Assembly and thus contribute to justice, accountability and sustainable peace in Syria.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Principality of Liechtenstein Aurelia Frick thanked Qatar and expressed her country’s pride in leading the efforts of the mechanism alongside Qatar.
At a donor conference last November, Qatar pledged to donate $1 million to the international impartial and independent mechanism on Syria to enable it to carry out its mandate to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the most serious crimes committed in Syria since 2011.
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15/03/2019
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