Equipo Nizkor - S/2016/756 - Response of Jordan to the Syrian accusations.

United Nations
Security Council

S/2016/756

Distr.: General
2 September 2016
English
Original: Arabic

Identical letters dated 31 August 2016 from the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council

On instructions from my Government, and with reference to the repeated letters from the representative of the Syrian regime, the latest of which is dated 25 August 2016, and our responses to those letters addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, I should like to state the following:

The Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan absolutely and categorically rejects the futile and deceptive accusations that the Syrian regime and its representative persist in inventing. Those claims have no basis in fact and no credibility. They are merely a pathetic attempt to negate Jordan's noble efforts to help the States and peoples of the region, particularly the Syrian people, 1.3 million of whom Jordan has received on its territory.

The representative of the Syrian regime has continued to spout manipulative and futile accusations. He has distorted the facts regarding what is happening inside Syria, facts that are clear to the Syrian people and all of the peoples and States of the world. This farrago of lies and delusions is both repugnant and monotonous, and he is the only one still listening. Instead, he ought to address the humanitarian situation inside Syria and the extensive destruction, killings and forced displacement to which Syria and its people have fallen victim. This campaign of abuse against my country contravenes all relevant international norms and conventions, and it requires a firm response on the part of the Security Council and the international community.

The representative of the Syrian regime will not be successful in his attempt to create a new narrative that defies reality and logic, and to entangle Jordan in a web of fantasies that he has spun in order to cover up his regime's failure to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria. By persisting in sending his deceptive letters, the representative of the Syrian regime is making a vain attempt to distract the members of the Security Council. Jordan trusts that they are aware of what is happening. His aim is to disrupt the work of the Security Council and impede the development of a political solution to the crisis that would spare the lives of the Syrian people.

Jordan has made considerable efforts to help the Syrian refugees; it has done at least as much as any other party, if not more. The leadership, Government and people of Jordan have opened their hearts, as well as their homes, to their Syrian brethren fleeing disaster. We have shared our limited resources with them, and we have not stopped providing them with essential services, despite the economic and financial burden that such work entails. However, the representative of the Syrian regime apparently cannot or will not see any of this. He does not want to recognize the reality of what is happening in Syria. Caught up in the specious illusions that he has been peddling, he has lost his bearings and taken to spouting baseless allegations.

Jordan reiterates its consistent position of rejecting terrorism and extremism in all their forms, whatever their motivation. Jordan is fully committed to implementing the counter-terrorism resolutions of the Security Council. During its time as a member of the Council, Jordan played a valuable role in drafting those resolutions and securing their adoption. In so doing, it clearly demonstrated its commitment to combating terrorist organizations in Syria and elsewhere. Jordan will remain at the forefront of any genuine, sincere endeavour to combat terrorism, so that its own people and the peoples of the region and the world can live in safety and security. The Security Council must not allow the representative of the Syrian regime to continue misleading the international community regarding the reality of what is happening in Syria. Regional and international actors have been working to combat terrorism, bring an end to the fighting in Syria and resume the political process under the auspices of the United Nations. The representative of the Syrian regime cannot be allowed to thwart those efforts. The Security Council should press the regime to respect the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, including resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014), 2199 (2015) and 2254 (2015); the resolutions of the General Assembly; the provisions of international humanitarian law; and the principles of human rights.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as a document of the Security Council.

(Signed) Sima Bahous
Permanent Representative

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02Sep16

Response of Jordan to the Syrian accusations