UN Secretary-General Guterres Visits Syria to Support Political Transition

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres conducted a three-day visit to Damascus starting July 25, 2026, marking the first trip by a UN chief to the Syrian capital since 2009. Invited by the transitional government, Guterres met with President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani to discuss humanitarian cooperation, reconstruction, and the drafting of a permanent constitution following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024.

Guterres appealed for international support to address extreme poverty affecting 90% of the population and reconstruction costs estimated by the World Bank Group at approximately $216 billion. He urged the immediate removal of all sanctions to facilitate economic recovery. During the trip, he visited Sednaya Prison, where he expressed horror at the scale of torture and killings, and met with the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights.

Addressing regional security, Guterres condemned Israeli military incursions and violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement as unacceptable, reaffirming that the Golan Heights are Syrian territory. This follows a declaration by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the 1974 agreement had collapsed. Guterres announced that the UN would submit a comprehensive report on these sovereignty violations to the Security Council at the end of July. While the United States has begun easing sanctions and intends to remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, Guterres warned that current humanitarian assistance meets only about 20% of the population's needs.