Implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014), 2258 (2015), 2332 (2016), 2393 (2017), 2401 (2018), 2449 (2018), 2504 (2020), 2533 (2020) and 2585(2021) - Report of the Secretary-General (S/2021/735) [EN/AR]

I. Introduction

1. The present report is the seventy-third submitted pursuant to paragraph 17 of Security Council resolution 2139 (2014), paragraph 10 of resolution 2165 (2014), paragraph 5 of resolution 2191 (2014), paragraph 5 of resolution 2258 (2015), paragraph 5 of resolution 2332 (2016), paragraph 6 of resolution 2393 (2017), paragraph 12 of resolution 2401 (2018), paragraph 6 of resolution 2449 (2018), and paragraph 8 of resolution 2504 (2020), and paragraph 3 of resolution 2533 (2020), and paragraph 5 of resolution 2585 (2021), in the last four of which the Council requested the Secretary-General to provide a report at least every 60 days on the implementation of the resolutions by all parties to the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic.

2. The information contained herein is based on data available to entities of the United Nations system and obtained from the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and other relevant sources. Data from entities of the United Nations system regarding their humanitarian deliveries have been reported for the months of June and July 2021.

II. Major developments

Key points

1. There was an increase in violence in the north-west of the Syrian Arab Republic during the reporting period. In recent weeks, there has been an uptick in air strikes and shelling along strategic points, including around the Jabal al-Zawiyah region in southern Idlib. The number of civilian casualties remained high compared with the situation earlier in 2021, and incidents of ceasefire violations rose significantly. The United Nations documented more than 53 civilian deaths in non-government-held parts of the north-west during the reporting period. On 12 June, there was an attack on Shifa‘ hospital in the city of Afrin, which has been financially supported by the United Nations since July 2019. Civilians, including medical personnel, were killed and injured, and parts of the hospital were destroyed.

2. In the north-east of the country, water levels in the Euphrates continued to be reduced to a critical point. By late June, 54 of 73 water stations along the western bank of the Euphrates and 44 of 126 water stations on its eastern bank had been significantly or severely affected by critically low water levels.

3. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) verified 191 incidents during the reporting period, in which at least 153 civilians, including 24 women and 49 children, were killed and at least 286 civilians, including 49 women and 74 children, were injured as a result of hostilities across the Syrian Arab Republic.

4. The situation in the south-west of the Syrian Arab Republic grew increasingly tense, with tensions principally centred around the Dar‘a al-Balad district of the city of Dar‘a, where clashes on 28 July resulted in civilian casualties, with eight civilians, including one woman and four children, killed and six civilians, including two children, injured. On 28 July, shelling reportedly hit Dar‘a national hospital, causing damage to the water tank and rendering the dialysis unit inoperable. Some 10,500 people had reportedly been displaced owing to hostilities by 29 July.

5. Humanitarian assistance by United Nations agencies and their partners continued throughout the Syrian Arab Republic. This included World Food Programme (WFP) food assistance for 4,845,515 people in June and for 4,744,232 people in July, across all 14 governorates, as well as increased cross-line deliveries and a continuation of the cross-border mechanism after the adoption of Security Council resolution 2585 (2021) on 9 July 2021.

6. The access landscape in the Syrian Arab Republic remains complex, with different geographical areas and types of service requiring the use of different operating modalities. Between January and July, 1,588 trucks providing humanitarian assistance crossed lines into the north-east, an average of 227 a month, compared with 199 a month in the same period in 2020. In June and July, the World Health Organization (WHO) delivered three cross-line shipments, including two airlifts and one road convoy. In the north-west, 14 consignments consisting of 1,476 trucks crossed into the Syrian Arab Republic from Turkey during the reporting period as part of cross-border operations, all through the Bab al-Hawa crossing.