UN official spokesman: Syria’s status and UN membership will remain unchanged despite Washington’s decision
The official spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, confirmed that Syria’s status as a member state of the United Nations will remain unchanged, despite the recent measures taken by the United States against its diplomatic mission in New York.
This came in Dujarric’s statements regarding circulating reports about Washington downgrading the legal status of the Syrian mission.
He explained, “We’ve seen those reports, and there are points that need clarification… The status of the Syrian Arab Republic in the United Nations hasn’t changed, and its membership remains as it is, in accordance with international law”.
Dujarric added that the change of visas for members of the Syrian mission by the host country (the United States) doesn’t affect Syria’s status as a member state of the United Nations, nor does it affect the right of mission members to carry out their duties within the United Nations in their capacity as accredited to it.
Washington informed the Syrian mission, via an official memorandum delivered through the United Nations, that it had changed the mission’s legal status from “a permanent mission of a member state” to “a mission representing a government not recognized by the United States”.
The memorandum also included the cancellation of G1 visas, which are usually granted to diplomats accredited to governments recognized by Washington, and their replacement with G3 visas, which are designated for representatives of governments not recognized by the host country but which authorize them to work at the United Nations.
In an official cable sent by the Syrian mission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Damascus, the US action was described as a “direct and explicit declaration of the United States’ non-recognition of the current Syrian government,” indicating that other countries might follow Washington’s lead if they shared similar political concerns.
