Jolie: ‘UN failing to save lives in Syria’

UNHCR special envoy for refugee issues and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie heavily criticised the United Nations for its failure to find diplomatic solutions and saving lives in Syria.

Addressing the UN Security Council in New York, Jolie appealed for unity among the international community, support for Syria’s neighbours and for a greater response from the international community against “the barbarism” of those inflicting systematic sexual violence.

In a heartfelt and impassioned delivery, Jolie gave a hard-hitting speech arguing that the wrong message was being sent to Syria. She said that the good being carried out by the United Nations – feeding, sheltering, protecting and educating people – was being undermined by the message being sent in Syria: “[…]: that laws can be flouted – chemical weapons can be used, hospitals can be bombed, aid can be withheld and civilians starved – with impunity.”

Since the Syria conflict began in 2011, Jolie made eleven visits to Syrian refugees in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Malta.

“I wish that some of the Syrians I have met could be here today. I think of the mother I met recently in a camp in Iraq. She could tell you what it is like to try to live after your young daughter was ripped from your family by armed men, and taken as a sex slave.

“I think of Hala, one of six orphaned children living in a tent in Lebanon. She could tell you what it is like to share the responsibility for feeding your family at the age of 11, because your mother died in an air strike and your father is missing.

“I think of Dr Ayman, a Doctor from Aleppo, who watched his wife and three year-old daughter drown in the Mediterranean when a smugglers' boat collapsed packed with hundreds of people. He could tell you what it is like to try to keep your loved ones safe in a warzone, only to lose them in a desperate bid for safety after all other options have failed.

“Any one of the Syrians I have met would speak more eloquently about the conflict than I ever could.”

Nearly four million Syrian refugees are victims of a conflict they have no part in, she said: “Yet they are stigmatized, unwanted, and regarded as a burden.”

Jolie said the purpose of the UN is to prevent and end conflict, bring countries together, to find diplomatic solutions and to save lives.

“We are failing to do this in Syria. Responsibility for the conflict lies with the warring parties inside Syria. But the crisis is made worse by division and indecision within the international community – preventing the Security Council from fulfilling its responsibilities.”

Jolie recounted how the Syrian refugees she had met in 2011 were full of hope. But when she returned later, Jolie said their hope was turning into anger: “The anger of the man who held his baby up to me, asking "is this a terrorist? Is my son a terrorist?”

She said that during her last visit in February, their anger had subsided into resignation, misery and the bitter question "why are we, the Syrian people, not worth saving?"

Jolie said that to be a Syrian caught up in this conflict is to be cut off from every law and principle designed to protect innocent life. While the international humanitarian law prohibits torture, starvation, the targeting of schools and hospitals – but these crimes are happening every day in Syria.

“The Security Council has powers to address these threats to international peace and security – but those powers lie unused,” she said.

While the UN has adopted the Responsibility to Protect concept, saying that when a State cannot protect its people the international community will not stand by, lack of political will remains the problem.

“It is time for the Security Council to work as one to end the conflict, and reach a settlement that also brings justice and accountability for the Syrian people,” she said, pointing out that only three countries were present in yesterday’s meeting.

“It is sickening to see thousands of refugees drowning on the doorstep of the world's wealthiest continent. No one risks the lives of their children in this way except out of utter desperation. If we cannot end the conflict, we have an inescapable moral duty to help refugees and provide legal avenues to safety.

“The barbarism of those inflicting systematic sexual violence demands a much greater response from the international community. We need to send a signal that we are serious about accountability for these crimes, for that is the only hope of establishing any deterrence.”

Jolie called on Member States to begin preparations now so that Syrian women are fully represented in future peace negotiations, in accordance with multiple resolutions of the Security Council.

“The crisis in Syria illustrates that our inability to find diplomatic solutions causes mass displacement, and traps millions of people in exile, statelessness, and displacement. 52 million people are forcibly displaced today – a sea of excluded humanity.

“And while our priority must be ending the Syrian conflict, we must also broaden out the discussion to this much wider problem. Our times will be defined not by the crises themselves, but by the way we pull together as an international community to address them.”