Syria
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Otto Pedersen addresses a press conference in Damascus on Jan. 22, 2025. AFP file photo
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, announced on Thursday he is stepping down after more than six years in the post, citing personal reasons.
Pedersen said he was “deeply indebted to, and profoundly grateful to, the Syrian people, who have shown extraordinary courage and humanity throughout these years.”
“Today, Syria and the Syrian people have a new dawn, and we must ensure that this becomes a bright day. They deserve this so much,” he said.
He did not give a date for his departure, but said it would be “in the new future.”
A career diplomat, Pedersen represented his native Norway in several diplomatic missions including Palestine and China. He also held various roles within the UN. In 2018, he was named special envoy to Syria, seven years into the conflict.
In his latest briefing of the UN Security Council on Thursday, Pedersen appealed for more international assistance for Syria.
“The interim authorities in Damascus are grappling with a massive legacy of war and autocracy. They have inherited not just the ruins of shattered buildings, but the deeper wreckage of a battered social fabric, decayed institutions, and a hollowed-out economy,” he said. “Syria urgently requires international material assistance on a scale commensurate with its needs and ambition.”
Addressing stalled negotiations about integrating the Kurdish-administered northeast into state institutions, Pedersen said it was positive that there are open channels of communication between the two sides. “Our message to both is the same: this will require bold moves and genuine compromise,” he said.
He expressed concern about the continued threat from the Islamic State (ISIS), which has sought to make a resurgence this year, and extremist violence.
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