UN Secretary-General Guterres Visits Syria for First Time in Over 15 Years

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has arrived in Damascus for a solidarity visit, marking the first time a UN chief has visited Syria in over 15 years. Guterres is scheduled to meet with transitional president Ahmed al-Scharaa, as well as representatives from civil society and women's organizations.

His visit comes at a critical juncture for Syria, which has been largely isolated internationally since the outbreak of its civil war in 2011. A rebel alliance, led by the Islamist group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham, overthrew the government of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. Since then, the transitional government has been working to re-establish ties with the international community, with French President Emmanuel Macron also visiting recently.

Guterres stated that he had deliberately avoided traveling to Syria since the brutal suppression of the Syrian people began in 2011. The UN plays a vital role in humanitarian aid within the country, with approximately 15.6 million people still in need of assistance. Millions continue to suffer from acute food insecurity, destroyed infrastructure, limited access to basic services, and the pervasive threat of explosive remnants of war.

The UN chief's agenda also includes a meeting with the UN observer mission on the Golan Heights, which monitors a buffer zone between Israel and Syria. The last UN Secretary-General to visit Syria was Ban Ki-moon in 2009. Guterres himself was last in the country in 2010, serving as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

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I have deliberately chosen not to travel to Syria since the beginning of the brutal repression of the Syrian people in 2011 until the fall of the regime.