On 12 July 2022, following days of protracted negotiations, the Security Council adopted a compromise resolution extending the use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing for the delivery of humanitarian aid into Syria’s north-west for six months, leaving the door open for a subsequent six-month renewal, until 10 July 2023, pending the adoption of another resolution.
In a Statement after the vote Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic, said that the Government has consistently expressed its willingness to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all Syrians throughout the country without discrimination, and that the Government has facilitated many United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) convoys to different parts of Syria. This refutes any allegations propagated by some to justify the extension of the so-called cross-border mechanism, despite its temporary, exceptional nature that was imposed by circumstances that no longer exist. “What was achieved today could have been achieved days ago,” he pointed out, but the “political selfishness” of the three Western permanent members “drove them to abuse the Council yet again” and conduct a disinformation campaign against Syria and the Russian Federation. He went on to urge the Secretariat to include in the Secretary-General’s report requested by the resolution a meticulous assessment of the humanitarian needs in Syria, the geographic distribution of those needs and an assessment of the impact of the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States and the European Union on responding to such needs.
“As #UNSC adopted RES 2642, we call for its full implementation without politicization, selectively, or discrimination# looking forward to the work of the Informal Interactive Dialog stipulated in the RES to serve as a platform for follow-up & monitoring of implementation,” wrote on his Twitter account Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh.