Syria: People’s Assembly Needs to Begin Its Work - Security Council Briefing | United Nations

Briefing by Claudio Cordone, Deputy Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, on the situation in the Middle East. Cordone said that the scale of the challenges facing the transitional parliament in the country “cannot be overstated.” He said, “More than eight months since the main elections, the People’s Assembly has still not been constituted, awaiting the Presidential appointment of a third of its members. The delay is generating anxiety. Syria needs the People’s Assembly to begin its work. And it needs all Syrians – in particular, Syria’s women and its various components – to feel meaningfully represented in it. The scale of the challenges facing this transitional parliament cannot be overstated. New laws need to be debated and adopted, executive actions need to be reviewed, diverse voices must be heard, and progress made on the transition.” Cordone noted, “Last week, demonstrations in Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor and Damascus saw participants calling for accountability for crimes committed during the conflict and demanding legal action against individuals associated with abuses under the former regime. In some locations, these demonstrations were accompanied by violence.” He added, “The government announced that 5,989 persons linked to the former regime are in detention and awaiting prosecution for crimes allegedly committed after 2011. These developments highlight transitional justice challenges facing Syria, with frustration from lack of perceived sufficient progress. While the government swiftly calmed the situation, to avoid repetition of such incidents there needs to be a sense of the past being addressed swiftly yes, but also fairly.” Cordone reported, “No progress on the implementation of the September 2025 Roadmap of confidence-building and reintegration in Sweida. The underlying issues that contributed to the violence of July 2025 remain unresolved, including accountability measures. Distrust between Damascus and actors within Sweida persists, as do strong feelings of distrust at societal level. Calls within Sweida for secession threaten to undermine the country’s unity and territorial integrity.” He also said, “Israeli military activity in southern Syria has continued, including in violation of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement. Israeli forces have maintained presence in the area of separation and conducted near-daily incursions across parts of southern Syria, establishing temporary checkpoints and carrying out searches and detentions of civilians.” Cordone continued, “The Syrian Government has exercised restraint while signaling openness to a security arrangement with Israel, although no tangible progress has been achieved to date. The United Nations in Syria is enhancing its efforts to address the needs of the affected population amidst continued Israeli military activity. We strongly reiterate our call on Israel to adhere to the 1974 Agreement, release those illegally detained and respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity.”