I make this statement in my national capacity on the political situation in Syria.
And I thank again Deputy Special Envoy Najat Rochdi for your briefing. And Mazen Darwish for your remarks.
The issue of missing and arbitrarily detained persons in Syria is of the utmost importance. And Norway welcomes the Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly on missing persons in Syria.
Progress on this issue is essential for the wider political process, and eventually- reconciliation in Syria.
This is why we welcomed the Syrian authorities’ amnesty that was announced in April. However, we regret that there has been little progress in implementing it. We will continue to urge Syrian authorities to step up their efforts to implement the amnesty, and to share more information.
We are disappointed by the continued lack of progress on the political track- including the stalled process in the Constitutional Committee. Norway gives our full support to the work of the Special Envoy to implement all aspects of resolution 2254.
We will cotinue to urge the parties to contribute constructively and in good faith to the political process, including the Constitutional Committee.
The escalations in violence- especially in northern Syria- are worrying. Attacks against civilians are unacceptable, and only exacerbate an already dire situation. We reiterate our call on all parties to abide by their obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. These negative developments further highlight the overall need for a national ceasefire.