For the first time, a UN Secretary General visits Syria

Syria after the coup

For the first time, a UN Secretary General visits Syria

Millions of people in Syria are still dependent on humanitarian aid. Now UN Secretary General Guterres is coming to visit. An important sign for the country.

For the first time in more than 15 years, a UN Secretary General is visiting Syria. He was on a “solidarity visit”. DamascusAntónio Guterres wrote on Platform Meetings with representatives of civil society and women’s organizations are also planned.

The program also includes a meeting with the UN observer mission in the Golan Heights (Undof) in Syria. The Undof mission’s blue helmets monitor an approximately 235 square kilometer buffer zone between Israel and Syria.

The last time a United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, visited Syria was in 2009. Guterres himself was last in the country in 2010, when he was still in the role of UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The country was largely isolated internationally after the civil war began in 2011. At the end of 2024, a rebel alliance led by the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew the government Bashar al-Assad. HTS leader al-Sharaa now leads the country as interim president. Since the coup, the government has again established closer contacts with the international community. Last was with Emmanuel Macron also for the first time an EU head of state in Syria.

The United Nations plays a central role in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria. According to the UN, around 15.6 million people there are still dependent on help. Millions of people continue to suffer from acute food insecurity, destroyed infrastructure, limited access to basic services and widespread exposure to explosive ordnance.