Inside The Arria Formula Meeting On Implementing Syria’s Cessation Of Hostilities
By Ijechi Nwaozuzu, UN Security Council Monitor Fellow
Ms. Fadwa Ojyli of the Syrian Negotiation Commission, delivering her brief at the Arria Formula Meeting on Implementing Syria’s Cessation of Hostilities on 12 March 2018 (Photo: UN Web TV)
The UN Security Council Arria Formula Meeting titled “Implementing Syria’s Cessation of Hostilities: A Syrian Perspective” was convened on 12 March 2018 by the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland and France. It was an opportunity to draw attention to the urgent need for the full implementation of newly-adopted UNSC Resolution 2401. Speakers called for an immediate end to the hostilities, urgent delivery of humanitarian aid and strengthened protection for humanitarian workers and medical facilities. Many also highlighted the need for women’s participation, firm political solutions and disarmament as essential elements of building peace.
It is worth noting that the resistance of Eastern Ghouta civilians under siege and the ability of women activists like Ms. Nivin Hotary to communicate their situation to the world has brought a new dimension to the role and status of Syrian women in the peace process. The Council however continues to fail on Syria. The humanitarian ceasefire has not been implemented. Political will for a political solution, much less with women's participation and rights at the table, remains fractured. And humanitarian aid faces continued obstacles, with particular implications for the April Brussels humanitarian aid conference. Supporting confidence building focused on women's participation and gender equality action is critical to moving beyond the impasse and taking political action to end the ongoing atrocities.
Read our full analysis of the Arria Formula Meeting here>>