Luxembourg Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, attended the Brussels conference on helping the future of Syria and countries of the region, co-chaired by the European Union, Germany, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United Nations, and attended by ministerial representatives from 70 delegations, including the European Union (EU) and the region, and the international community as a whole, major donors and civil society, as well as humanitarian and development organisations.
The discussions focused in particular on how the international community can contribute to a lasting solution to the Syrian conflict as part of an inclusive and Syrian-led political transition process on the basis of the relevant Security Council resolutions.
The conference was also meant to take stock of the collective position of the international community in fulfilling the commitments made at the London Conference in February 2016 and to decide on additional measures to be taken to meet the needs of the victims of the crisis.
In his speech, Minister Asselborn expressed concern about the alarming situation in Syria, "because a dictator prefers to destroy the country rather than lose power, even if it means recapturing only ruins." He recalled that "for the future of Syria, the choice cannot be between two tyrannies, between the Assad regime, which is certainly not the least evil, and jihadists. The fight against terrorism cannot in any case lead to a new legitimisation of Assad".
Deploring that the determination of the international community has so far been unable to stop the violence in Syria, the minister nevertheless declared that "in the face of the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the Second World War, there is no question of resignation.”
Calling on all actors to realise that "peace can return to Syria only if an inclusive political transition is implemented", Minister Asselborn insisted that "the special envoy should be encouraged The United Nations for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to bring all the Syrian parties to a constructive dialogue and to do everything possible to ensure that the hesitant negotiations that have resumed under the aegis of the United Nations in Geneva are not broken. You must keep trying. And above all, we must not destabilise the United Nations today by removing the funds necessary for them to function."
The minister went on to explain that "with regard to aid to Syria, our motto remains "no aid for reconstruction without a political process "and there can be no impunity for the most serious violations of international law.”
Minister Asselborn recalled that at the pledging conference for Syria in London, Luxembourg pledged to contribute €37.5 million up to 2020 to humanitarian efforts in Syria and neighbouring countries and that Luxembourg has fulfilled its promise and in fact in 2016 disbursed in 2016 at least €7.5 million for humanitarian projects and emergency aid in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
Minister Asselborn then announced that in 2017, Luxembourg will continue its commitment from London and will make available another €5 million to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of the population affected by the conflict.
Image: Jean Asselborn with the head of the External Relations Department of Kurdistan-Iraq, Falah Mustafa
