Dr. Rouba Mhaissen:

I will start by thanking Ireland and the Irish people for always taking just stances when it comes to wars and the plights of people such as those in Syria. I thank the people of Ireland for showing generosity to the various campaigns that we led through Trócaire around Christmas time and other times of year. Trócaire and another personal donor are the biggest donors for the efforts we lead with Syrian refugees and the internally displaced.

As my colleagues said, it has been ten years since the people of Syria took to the streets demanding basic rights, justice, dignity and freedom. However, while a lot of media and politicians would like to say that the war in Syria is over because the shelling has largely stopped, the war is far from over and a difficult situation remains on Syrian soil. It is true that Syria is not divided today in terms of territory, but it is very fragmented and there are many other division lines, as my colleague mentioned.

At a political level, we are unlikely to see any constitutional reforms before the elections of 2021, and if the current President of Syria is re-elected, we are unlikely to see any such reforms in the next seven years. We can discuss the reasons for that. There is stalling in the political process. We are pushing for a UN security resolution to end the war with a political deal. However, those efforts are also stalling and it is unlikely to happen because we have not seen any progress in Geneva.

What people do not know is that this has implications for people's lives. Today the Syrian regime is in need of dollars which is leading it to monetise, for example, the military service. People can pay a sum to avoid doing military service. The regime is also pushing non-governmental organisations, NGOs, to have a bigger role as a source of income to overcome the sanctions. All the political considerations I have mentioned have direct effects on people's lives. More than half the Syrian population are refugees or are internally displaced, meaning they are living in tents or extremely precarious situations. More than 80% of Syrians have high debts. Some 13 million are in need of humanitarian assistance and 80% live under the poverty line in a country where that was unheard of before the war.

In neighbouring countries, for example, Lebanon, a country with already weak infrastructure, two out of three children continue to live without education. With hyperinflation in Syria and Lebanon, the situation is very difficult and leading to a lot of black market jobs and unstable living. With the coronavirus, refugees in these countries feel even more isolated. That is why our interventions, with Trócaire and others offering psychosocial support, especially for women and vulnerable categories of people, are still needed.

Inside Syria today, we are doing some pre- and post-return monitoring with Syrians. Many people who go back are regretting the decision to do so. That is due to many factors, the first of which is the matter of protection. As I said, safety is not only about shelter from shelling and bombs. It is not only a physical matter. Of course, many of the people who have returned are faced with kidnapping, abduction or imprisonment based on their political leanings. Many are also forced into military service despite that they do not want to be fighting fellow Syrians. There is no access to basic services such as education, as my colleague from Oxfam mentioned and I will not repeat that. Social tensions still exist. There are housing, land and property, HLP, issues. Many people cannot access their homes simply because their homes are not there and it takes a lot to revamp these homes because they are occupied or because they have been, unfortunately, closed by the Syrian regime.

All of that leads me to say that we need to continue pushing when we hear the conditions for safe, dignified and voluntary returns are in place. Those conditions are not yet in place, and whenever we hear any European or neighbouring countries state refugees should be forced to return to Syria, we must continue to stand our ground. We also need to continue pushing for humanitarian funding for neighbouring countries which are still taking on the majority of the burden. If that does not happen, we might again see an influx of refugees coming illegally, endangering their lives. In order not to see these refugees coming in such precarious ways, we need to continue pushing on the issue of resettlement.

As my colleague and friend Nasser said, Ireland is a penholder for humanitarian affairs to continue pushing for cross-border aid to be available. I am speaking today to very high-level politicians and people who are involved in foreign affairs. Ireland needs to play a leadership role in putting a political end to the war rather continuing a war that is causing the loss of too many lives. I know that the Minister for Foreign Affairs recently visited Iran. I think the negotiations over the Iranian deal and the Iranian role in Syria can be used to guarantee an end to the war and a better life for Syrians, both inside and outside Syria.

I am happy to engage in conversation and answer any questions. I again thank Trócaire and everyone else for this great opportunity.