Oxfam reacts to appointment of Staffan de Mistura as new UN Peace Envoy on Syria

Reacting to the appointment of Staffan de Mistura as new UN peace envoy on Syria, Camilla Jelbart Mosse, Oxfam's Syria campaign manager said:

"The appointment of Staffan de Mistura comes at a crucial time when the Syria crisis is spilling out across the region, and the political process seems at a complete deadlock. If the new peace envoy is to succeed, the international community must immediately step up its efforts to put an end to the relentless violence.

"Mr. de Mistura’s knowledge of the region will be key to his mission. He will need to work with regional powers as well as parties to the conflict inside Syria if significant progress is to be made towards a political solution. We urge him to include Syrian civil society in any negotiations, to ensure that the voices of the millions of Syrians who are bearing the brunt of the conflict and have been displaced across the region are central to the process.

“With people across Syria clamoring for an end to the fighting, Mr. de Mistura’s mandate should include building international support for locally negotiated ceasefires that are consistent with international humanitarian law and encourage an end to siege tactics and the starvation of civilians.”