Ambassador Wood, President of the Council
Esteemed members of the Security Council
Thank you for inviting me to brief you. 
Almost ten years ago, I addressed this very Council and spoke about the horror of barrel bombs, forced displacement, forced disappearance, siege, and other war crimes. I urged you to end these crimes against the Syrian people. A lot has changed since then, but these crimes haven’t stopped. Instead, the world has started to forget the tragedy of Syrians.
Today I address you with the same demands, renewing my call to you to end these crimes and ensure peace. I hesitated before calling on you to do so again, but my responsibility towards Syria compels me to stand here once again. 
For six days now, as the map of military control has changed, brutal attacks launched by the Syrian regime, Russia, and Iranian cross-border militias on Syrians have escalated especially in areas outside their control in northwest Syria. The White Helmets have responded to 275 attacks. These attacks have killed 100 civilians, wounded 360 others, and displaced tens of thousands of residents, most of whom are women and children.
The attacks deliberately targeted civilians and vital infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and IDP camps. Who would expect a member state of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council to participate in this heinous crime and cross thousands of kilometers in its aircraft to launch deadly attacks on the population and destroy hospitals and vital facilities?
Ladies and gentlemen, the State of Russia, whose representative is participating in the session of this Council, launched brutal airstrikes yesterday that put four hospitals in the city of Idlib out of service, including a maternity hospital, in violation of international laws and norms. Imagine what happened to the patients. I will tell you. Among the cases we documented were two patients inside the hospital who died after their ventilators were destroyed by the airstrike. We have all the documents and evidence of this brutal, deliberate attack.
Yesterday was one of the bloodiest days in recent memory. The Syrian regime and Russia killed 25 civilians, most of them children, and wounded 66 others. It is a day I will never forget. I will never forget the faces and looks of the children after the Syrian regime’s warplanes targeted their tents in a camp near Idlib. You may wonder why would a warplane target a tent made of cloth and kill seven children and their mother? The answer is killing and nothing else… The children were impatiently waiting to say goodbye to the tents and return to their village in the Hama countryside – a village which they only know by name. But they left and their dreams left with them. When their father saw what happened, he went crazy… He lost his entire family… He lost them and was left alone, carrying their memories and what remained of their blood-stained clothes.
Aleppo, a city of history and civilization, also had its share of Syrian-Russian death and destruction. After the balance of power on the ground changed, Aleppo city and the surrounding area is no longer under the control of the regime and Iranian militias, and once again residents are paying the price for the regime and its allies’ scorched-earth policy of collective punishment instead of pushing for a political solution. Today, we remember the early days of our work in Aleppo in 2013, when explosive barrels were raining down on civilians. Over the past few days, we responded to airstrikes that targeted the university hospital, a church, residential areas in the city, and public squares, in flagrant violation of International Humanitarian Law.
To the people of Aleppo, know that we are by your side. We share your fear of further military escalation, and we seek to support you and heal your wounds. My colleagues, forcibly displaced from Aleppo, who have responded to calls for help in their city are only able to be there because the regime has left. We have dispatched ambulances and specialized teams to work alongside humanitarian partners and emergency services in the city, and we are constantly assessing the situation to adapt our actions according to the situation.
Since our formation, the White Helmets have been unwavering in our mission to support the people of Syria in all their diverse backgrounds. We are from the people, for the people. Tragically, it became impossible for us to continue to provide our services in areas that came under the control of the regime. Over the years, we have lost 313 volunteers, the majority due to deliberate military targeting of our personnel, vehicles and centres by the regime and its allies.  
Mr President, 
I am gravely concerned about the lives of every Syrian because of the real threat of chemical attacks. The Syrian regime has a long history of using chemical weapons for military gain, such as in Douma in the Damascus countryside in 2018. According to a report of the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the regime has admitted to continuing production and development of chemical weapons. This is a dangerous indicator of the safety of civilians and a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and the Chemical Weapons Convention. The failure of the international community to hold the regime accountable for these violations puts civilians at risk of chemical attacks at any moment.
It is no secret that Russia has been involved in obstructing international decisions and efforts aimed at addressing chemical weapons. We call on Russia to end its use of the veto on this Council to support and protection for the Syrian regime, to stop spreading disinformation related to the White Helmets and international investigation teams. We urge Russia to halt its obstruction of the path to justice and accountability. 
Mr president, members of the Council, 
The scale of this crisis requires immediate and decisive action. Concrete steps must be taken to protect civilians and end attacks on vital facilities, humanitarian workers and first responders. The continued violations of International Humanitarian Law, including the looming threat of chemical attacks, must end now. 
It is also necessary to work with all local and regional parties to ensure that all sides adhere to International Humanitarian Law, refrain from targeting humanitarian workers, and respect the human rights of all civilians regardless of their affiliations or the identity of the forces controlling their areas. There is no reason that justifies the deliberate targeting of civilians, their infrastructure, or their dignity.
This escalation comes at a time when only 30% of the Syria Humanitarian Response Plan has been met, its lowest level since the start of the humanitarian crisis in Syria . Despite the difficult circumstances, Syrian NGOs are leading the humanitarian response. Immediate funding and aid are required for the millions of affected civilians and I urge the Council to safeguard cross-border access so that aid continues to get to those most in need. 
Mr president, members of the Council,
The Syrian people have appealed to you to take immediate action to end atrocities and ensure peace, a core responsibility for the Council. However, in recent years, you have not only failed to heed these calls, but, tragically, many of your governments have chosen to forget Syria altogether     . The international community has failed Syria politically and in terms of humanitarian response. The horrors unfolding today are a direct consequence of that neglect—a failure to act when action was desperately needed. Syria was a testing ground for impunity, and failure to hold perpetrators accountable has had catastrophic repercussions far beyond our borders, emboldening perpetrators of crimes in Ukraine to Sudan to Gaza. 
At its roots, the current crisis is political, not humanitarian. Syrians need a clear timeline for a political solution that will ensure the protection of civilians, plans for a transition period that leads to free elections, dismantles the harmful sources of regional instability caused by the production and smuggling of drugs, and the expulsion of foreign militias.  It’s important that the Council accelerates efforts to push for a political solution in accordance with Resolution 2254 to ensure lasting peace. 
For over 12 years, this Council has utterly failed the Syrian people. I hope that today my words will not fall on deaf ears again  . 
My final message to you and to the world: Syrians in Damascus, Aleppo, Daraa, Sweida, Idlib, the coast, the Jazira, Homs, Hama still long for freedom, change and the chance to build a dignified, peaceful country, united as Syrians under a national identity. They will never stop calling for justice and accountability. 
Thank you.