The Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan for Syria refers to the joint UN-Arab League peace mission, headed by

Lakhdar Brahimi Lakhdar Brahimi (Algerian Arabic, Algerian pronunciation: ; ; '; born 1 January 1934) is an Algerian United Nations diplomat who served as the United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria until 14 May 2014. He was Ministry of Foreign Aff ...

in order to resolve the Syria Crisis. On 17 August 2012, Brahimi was appointed by the United Nations as the new peace envoy to Syria, replacing

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

, who had previously resigned, following the collapse of his cease fire attempt.

Background

The

peace plan for Syria or the Six-point peace plan for Syria,"Text of Annan's six-point peace plan for Syria"
Douglas Hamilton, Reuters, 4 April 2012. launched in February 2012, is considered the most serious international attempt to resolve the Syrian civil war in the Middle East diplomatically. The peace plan enforced a cease-fire to take place across

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

since 10 April 2012, though in reality the cease-fire was announced by the

Syrian government The government of Syria takes place in a presidential system and is currently in a transitionary period under and led by a transitional government. The seat of the government is located in Damascus, Syria. On 8 December 2024, after the succ ...

on 14 April. Following the

Houla massacre The Houla massacre () was a mass murder of civilians by Ba'athist Syria, Ba’athist Syrian government forces that took place on May 25, 2012, in the midst of the Syrian Civil War, in the town of Taldou, in the Houla Region of Syria, a string o ...

and the consequent

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

(FSA) ultimatum to the Syrian government, the cease-fire practically collapsed towards the end of May 2012, as the FSA began nationwide offensives against the government troops. On 1 June, the

Syrian President The president of Syria (), officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic, is the head of state and head of government of Syria. The president directs the executive branch and serves as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Army and Armed ...

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

vowed to crush the anti-government uprising, after the FSA announced that it was resuming “defensive operations.” Following a prolonging discourse of the peace mission, Kofi Annan resigned on 2 August 2012. On 17 August,

was appointed the new UN-Arab League peace envoy for Syria.

Chronology

Appointment

On 17 August 2012, Brahimi was appointed by the United Nations as the new peace envoy to Syria, replacing

. Following initial consultations and meetings of Lakhdar Brahimi with Syrian President Assad, Russian, Chinese, as well as other officials, a cease fire attempt was announced towards late October, in order to respect the Muslim holiday of

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

Eid al-Adha cease fire attempt

Brahimi appealed on both the Syrian government and the armed opposition to stop the violence during the Islamic festival of

, which fell that year probably on 26 October 2012, and 3 or 4 days after it. The government and most opposition groups agreed, but fighting soon resumed when the parties accused each other of continued violence.

China visit

On 31 October 2012, Brahimi spoke in Beijing with Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi about Syria. Afterwards, Yang said he supported a “political transition” in Syria, and supported Brahimi’s mediation efforts.

References