The International Community Must Urgently Act to End the War and Civilian Suffering

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

March 16, 2021

CONTACT

Megan Corrado | mcorrado@allianceforpeacebuilding.org

Washington, DC—While the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) welcomes the bipartisan resolution introduced in the United States (U.S.) Senate last week observing the 10th anniversary of the Syrian war, AfP calls on the international community to utilize all available means to facilitate humanitarian access to deliver much-needed aid and redouble support for a United Nations (UN) mediated political settlement to end the war in Syria.

A decade on, the path to peace remains unclear. Before conflict broke out, Syria was a thriving middle-income country. The violence has taken a deadly toll on the population, claiming between 400,000 – 600,000 lives. More than half of Syria’s population is displaced, the highest number in the world. Today, over 80 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty with 90 percent of children in need of humanitarian assistance—a twenty percent increase from last year. Reconstruction estimates to restore critical infrastructure, including roads, hospitals, and schools, range between $250 billion – $400 billion dollars. The conflict created the conditions for the Islamic State to flourish, with deadly implications in Syria, the region, and around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a multiplier effect on civilian suffering. Without immediate intervention, the situation will only grow worse.

The war started during the Arab Spring with peaceful protesters calling for political reforms. However, it evolved into a complex regional conflict including great power competition—and one with no real end in sight. After years of insufficient U.S. diplomatic and military engagement in Syria, the Biden-Harris Administration has an opportunity to provide real support to Syrian civilians and help pave the way for negotiations to peacefully end the protracted conflict by:

· Redoubling support for a UN mediated political settlement to Syria’s conflict to open the way for democratic elections and the resettlement of displaced Syrians;

· Requesting bilateral, non-lethal stabilization assistance to support local governance in areas not controlled by the Assad government;

· Lifting legal obstacles to and investing in programs designed to rehabilitate and reintegrate former Islamic State fighters and the women and children who lived with them, with a view towards repatriating those living as refugees in Syria; and

· Assessing the impact of U.S. sanctions on local actors’ ability to deliver basic services and identify necessary exemptions, so that U.S. economic pressure does not impede humanitarian operations or efforts at de-escalation and peacebuilding.

With over 130 member organizations, AfP brings together the largest development organizations, most innovative academic institutions, and influential humanitarian and faith-based groups to harness collective action for peace. We build coalitions in key areas of strategy and policy to elevate the entire peacebuilding field, tackling issues too large for any one organization to address alone.