On February 26, 2024, in Damascus, Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Fayssal Mikdad, articulated Syria’s firm opposition to the Western nations’ systematic use of human rights frameworks to exert politicized influence on the sovereign matters of states, aiming to advance their own political objectives.
In a video statement for the High-Level Segment of the 55th regular session of the Human Rights Council (running from February 26 to April 5, 2024), Mikdad voiced strong support for the Palestinian people, who are facing acts of genocide that starkly illustrate the discriminatory essence of the Israeli occupation. He highlighted the occupation’s public acknowledgment of over 29,000 Palestinian deaths and its intentional attacks on healthcare workers and civilian infrastructure, with substantial backing from Western human rights proponents, particularly the United States.
Mikdad emphasized the critical need to reaffirm commitment to Agenda Item 7 of the Human Rights Council, which sheds light on the Israeli occupation’s severe and systematic human rights infringements, noting that no fundamental rights have been spared from violation.
He further declared Syria’s inalienable right to reclaim the entirety of the occupied Golan Heights and denounced all Israeli efforts to solidify its occupation as clear breaches of United Nations resolutions, especially UNSC Resolution No. 497.
Mikdad criticized the resolution titled “The Human Rights Situation Facing Syrian Returnees” and its outcomes as prime examples of Western duplicity. He argued that this non-consensual and politicized resolution serves to malign the image of the Syrian state falsely.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
