Alain Juppé’s participation in the Friends of Syria conference (Tunis, February 24, 2012) [ fr ]

The Ministre d’Etat will represent France at the Friends of Syria conference which will take place in Tunis on Friday, February 24.

France called for this conference and we expect it to express the broad international consensus in support of the Arab League’s initiative aimed at putting an end to the crackdown in Syria. It will demonstrate the complete isolation of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. It will reaffirm the international community’s condemnation in the face of the regime’s strategy of forging ahead with its criminal policy.

We hope that the message will be heard by the entire international community, so that it can take collective action to put an end to the tragedy that the Syrian people have endured for almost a year now and for which the Damascus authorities will be held accountable.

The humanitarian situation is dramatically deteriorating in several regions of Syria and in particular in Homs. The tragic death of two journalists as a result of the bombings is yet another example of this regime’s total disregard for its international obligations. France reaffirmed the urgent need to repatriate casualties on medical grounds.

The conference in Tunis should provide an opportunity to implement international humanitarian assistance for Syria and to make progress toward finding ways to ensure access for this humanitarian assistance. Yesterday evening, the minister received at the Quai d’Orsay Mrs. Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, with whom he discussed the mission that she is due to carry out soon in Syria and the humanitarian emergency in this country.

France also hopes that this conference will give impetus to the process to provide international support to the Syrian opposition, all components of which must be inclusive and united around the Syrian National Council.