Syria Safe Zones... Qatari Efforts and International Consensus to Alleviate Human Tragedy

The idea of establishing safe zones in Syria itself is at the forefront of solutions to reduce the human tragedy taking place in the country six years ago, either in the form of internal displacement or external asylum and migration.
The international agreement on the borders of these areas and the mechanisms to protect them became imminent in light of the regional and international desire to form a new reality for Syria's future in which the voice of guns subsides for the voice of reason.
Qatar supported the idea of establishing "safe zones" in Syria in terms of constant keenness to protect civilians there and the Qatari diplomatic is working in all UN and international forums related to the Syrian crisis to mobilize the required effort for the adoption of a political solution.
The State of Qatar has played a prominent role in this regard through its membership in the meetings of the International Syria Support Group which includes 17 countries and three international organizations and aims to formulate proposals that help to stop the hostilities, transfer humanitarian aids, find a political solution in Syria.
Qatar also participated in the meetings of the Friends of Syria Group "London Group" in September, where it called on the international community to implement the UN resolutions to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people and achieve their aspirations for freedom and dignity.
Qatar also supported the regional and international effort to protect the Syrian people in the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Counter Terrorism which was held in Washington, DC, last July, stressing that the continuation of the crisis in Syria and the absence of a political solution hampers all international efforts to eradicate terrorism.
Qatar was one of the first states calling for the provision of "safe havens" and buffer zones for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Syrian civilians in places of fighting. 
In mid-October last year, HE the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called on members of the UN Security Council to put aside the geopolitical calculations and fulfill their obligations to protect the lives of civilians, urged the Council to establish a "safe havens" in northern and southern Syria and immediately impose a no-fly zone, warning of a repeated failure of the international community in Rwanda and Bosnia in Aleppo. 
HE the Foreign Minister called on in an article in The New York Times, the American daily newspaper, under the title "How Can The UN Save Aleppo," the UN General Assembly, in case the Security Council's inability to agree on these basic procedures, to demand the implementation of the Resolution 377A. HE pointed out that this procedure, known as "Unity for Peace" and "Acheson Plan", adopted in 1950, provides a collective resistance against aggression.
Qatar's efforts against all plans for the division and fragmentation of Syria and the unity of the Syrian land is one of the constants that cannot be compromised.
US President Donald Trump had announced on Sunday his support of the idea to establish safe zones in Syria, pointing out that those zones aimed to stop the flow of people fleeing the horrors of war in Syria to the United States.
The US president had earlier criticized the European Union's stance on receiving refugees, saying that "safe zones" will be an alternative for asylum and migration outside Syrian territories. 
At the same level, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during his visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain: "Our objective is to establish an area of at least 4,000, 5,000 square kilometers, to create a safe zone." He added the area would also require a "no-fly" zone. 
Turkey said that the safe zone is a home to over 2.7 million Syrian refugees who fled the country ravaged by the conflict Turkey's suggested buffer zone in Northern Syria in late 2011 were later evolved to become a safe zone after the number of Syrian refugees were increased. 
In March 2012, reports said that Turkey's Armed Forces completed the initial preparations for the possibility of creating a buffer zone on the border with Syria, adding that the Turkey's army will work to ensure the protection of Syrian refugees if the zone will be established.

Source: QNA