UN envoy urges justice, not revenge in Syria

DAMASCUS: The United Nations special envoy to Syria on Sunday called for “justice and accountability” in the country, rather than acts of revenge following the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad.

“We need to see of course justice and accountability for crimes. And we need to make sure that that goes through a credible justice system, and that we don’t see any revenge,” Geir Pedersen said as he arrived in Damascus.

Assad fled Syria last weekend following an 11-day rebel offensive led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), bringing to a dramatic end to more than 50 years of brutal Assad clan rule.

According to Pedersen, “the change that we’re now seeing after the fall of the Assad regime has just been immense, and of course that change in itself creates great hopes.”

“But we all know there are many challenges still ahead of us. So, we need to get this right from the very beginning.”

Back to school for many children in Damascus

The UN envoy, who was due to meet with officials from Syria’s transitional government, urged a “political process… that is inclusive of all Syrians”.

“That process obviously needs to be led by the Syrians themselves” with “help and assistance” from the rest of the world, he said.

Pedersen in recent days has called for an “inclusive” transition to avert a “new civil war”, like the one Syrians had lived through since 2011, sparked by the Assad government’s crackdown on anti-government protests.

HTS, which spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad, is rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda and is designated a “terrorist” organisation by many Western governments.

There are “a variety of sanctions imposed by member states/entities impacting Syria and HTS, and others,” Pedersen’s spokeswoman Jenifer Fenton told AFP in an emailed statement.

The UN envoy mentioned “the whole question about economic recovery”, saying that “we need to see that this is fixed quickly. We will hopefully see a quick end to sanctions, so that we can see really a rallying around building up Syria again.”

He also urged a humanitarian aid boost to support Syrians.

“Syria has been through an enormous… humanitarian crisis. So, we need to make sure that Syria receives increased immediate humanitarian assistance to the people in Syria, and to all the refugees who want to return. This is extremely critical.”