Opinion

Don't let Syria slip off the global agenda

France stands by Syrians in their continuing quest for peace and dignity and calls on the international community not to forget them

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Brigitte Curmi
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Don't let Syria slip off the global agenda

Brigitte Curmi
last update on

For the last few months, the international community’s attention has been naturally focused on the crisis in Gaza. However, we must not look away from another inextricable crisis that has shaken the region for almost 13 years.

What happened on 7 October and the following war shows how “frozen” crises can burst at any time if the deep roots of the conflict are not addressed. That is why it is more important than ever to stay mobilised on the Syrian crisis to reach a political solution to the conflict.

After 13 years of conflict and relatively still frontlines since 2020, the situation in Syria puts us in front of an impossible choice: either moving towards normalisation without preliminary concessions or contemplating the status quo. None of these options represents an acceptable solution.

Normalisation has been the trendy word of 2023, in the context of the reintegration of Syria into the Arab League in May, the attempt for an Ankara-Damascus rapprochement as well as some discussions between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian regime. However, all these tracks face the same intransigence from Bashar al-Assad, who remains the biggest obstacle to normalisation.

Regarding the Arab attempt to engage with the regime, Damascus made no concessions. Captagon trafficking is on the rise, with the complicity of the regime and its army, turning Syria into a narco-state.

The conditions for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of the 12 million Syrians who left their homes — half the country’s population, either refugees or internally displaced persons —are still not met due to the regime's unwillingness to show protection guarantees for the returnees.

The rapprochement between Turkey and Syria also ran out of steam in the absence of will from the regime to compromise. Finally, all rounds of discussion between the SDF and the regime failed due to the regime’s intangible will to return to the status quo ante bellum.

These unsuccessful attempts reinforced our conviction that there is nothing to gain from offering gifts to the regime before any valuable concession.

What happened on 7 October shows how "frozen" crises can burst at any time if the deep roots of the conflict are not addressed. That is why reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis is more important than ever.

Status quo unviable

The status quo is not a viable solution either. The situation on the ground is deeply unstable, and the living conditions of Syrians keep getting worse and worse.

Syria recently witnessed its worst military escalation in four years, with a rise of tensions and violence throughout the entire country, showing that the Syrian war is not over.

In addition to the spillover of the Gaza conflict and the risk that Syria would become a new front in the Gaza war, the military academy in Homs was hit by a massive attack, the regime and Russia launched a massive and indiscriminate bombing campaign in north-west Syria and Turkey conducted intense air strikes against north-east Syria which also faced a significant tribal insurgency.

Furthermore, the Islamic State (IS) remains a threat and conducts deadly attacks in the badiya regularly.

The humanitarian situation is also dire: out of a population of over 20 million people, 15.3 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance.

The devastating earthquake that hit Syria in February 2023 further worsened the humanitarian situation, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance is facing many challenges — especially since the Russian veto on the humanitarian cross-border mechanism last summer and because of the well-documented system of aid diversion the regime put in place.

With the economic situation deteriorating, only those Syrians who cannot afford to leave are staying.

Failure to address this situation increases the risk of further deterioration and deeper instability in Syria and the region at large.

The humanitarian situation is also dire: out of a population of over 20 million people, 15.3 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance. The situation on the ground is volatile, and living conditions keep worsening.

A political solution is imperative

As neither of these two options represents a long-term solution, we need to collectively draw a third path. The situation on the ground and the balance of powers between the parties clearly show there won't be a military settlement to this conflict. Only a political solution will achieve a lasting peace in Syria and allow Syrians to live in security and dignity.

The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 offers guidelines for a political resolution of the conflict. France remains fully mobilised to implement this resolution. It stands firm on the EU position, stating that no normalisation, no lifting of sanctions and no reconstruction will occur without a credible and inclusive political process.

Our engagement in the UN Security Council and our support to the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, are constant. At the same time, we must collectively gather our efforts and the means available to each of us to push the regime to change its behaviour. We are keen on pursuing our dialogue with the Arab contact group in this direction.

Investing in a better future 

However, Syria's future won't be built without the Syrians. That is why France continuously supports the opposition and Syrians, who have been leading a tireless fight for almost 13 years to live in dignity — whether it is through movements such as the recent demonstrations in Suweida and Dara'a or by creating new forums to gather Syrian driving forces, wherever they are.

In the meantime, France keeps on supporting Syrians, whether they are in Syria or outside. Facing the current humanitarian situation throughout the country, international donors must maintain their funding.

France's financial commitment to humanitarian assistance in Syria has been constant – and remains our second-largest humanitarian action budget. It was further scaled up in response to the earthquake. A substantial share is directed towards local, independent and trusted partners overseeing projects in various fields in all Syrian regions.

We believe that helping Syrian people today is helping Syria tomorrow. We support leading figures of the Syrian civil society who dedicate their lives to fighting impunity.

We believe that helping Syrian people today is helping Syria tomorrow. That drives our support to initiatives of the Syrian civil society – within Syria, in host countries and in the Syrian diaspora – whether they advocate for human rights, freedom and justice, promote inclusive governance or preserve Syrian culture and heritage.

We also support leading figures of the Syrian civil society, particularly women and men who defend human rights and/or dedicate their lives to fighting impunity.

The fight against impunity in Syria is also a longstanding commitment of France. Almost 13 years after the start of the Syrian revolution, the gap between the mass atrocities committed in Syria and the accountability of the perpetrators of those crimes remains huge.

France is firmly determined to explore all the ways to ensure accountability for these crimes — whether through our support of the Commission of Inquiry and the International Independent and Impartial Mechanism or the work of national courts mobilised in this field. French courts are at the frontline to bring justice to the victims. Victims must not be silenced or forgotten because no peace will be achieved without justice.

France does not forget Syrians, stands by their side in their continuous quest for peace and dignity and calls on the international community not to overlook the Syrian crisis on the pretext that it is "frozen". It is not, and limiting our actions to crisis management in Syria is taking the risk of fuelling tomorrow's heated conflict.

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