“I hope they last, because if not, it would be another missed opportunity to help the Syrian conflict come to a negotiated endat a time when the impact of the crisis is deepening,” said Geir Pedersen, at the Security Council meeting.
While there have been positive humanitarian initiatives following the devastating earthquakes in February, it is disappointing that the UN cross-border relief operations which caused a Russian veto and the failure to reach any resolution two weeks ago, cannot be expanded, he told delegates.
“How are the Syrians meant to believe that some broader progress is possible, and how do they want to encourage them to overcome their deep differences, if unity on humanitarian principles among international organizations is not possible?”
Five strange twenty
“Syria will divide the region with the Syrian society rather than divide on many issues”, Mr. Pedersen said, informing of the presence of five foreign wars between the countries.
“This month saw airstrikes attributed to Israel, reports of Turkish drone strikes, reports of government airstrikes north of Aleppo, and the US said it carried out drone strikes on an ISIL leader near al-Bab.”
Civilians continue to be injured and killed, amid violent attacks, regular exchanges of mortar, rocket and artillery fire across north-east and north-west Syria, he added.
Ask to work diligently
Mr. Pedersen called on the Syrian Government to work actively with the UN on a political path out of the conflict, and also highlighted the need for “meaningful and coordinated international diplomacy”.
“The more you can work together with your differences, the more you can encourage and support Syrians to do the same,” he urged the 15-member Council.
Conditions are getting worse
Ramesh Rajasingham, Joint Director for the UN OCHA aid coalition, told the delegation that his office had received a letter from the Syrian Government authorizing the UN to use the Bab al-Hawa Crossing to aid in the northwest.
He said that humanitarians continue to engage with the Government on the terms described in the letter and OCHA’s key requirements are to continue working, guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.
Throughout Syria, he continued, conditions continue to worsen, with the price of essential food products rising by more than 90 percent by 2023, putting basic foodstuffs and other essential items, out of reach of millions of families.
Aid to about 40 percent of them, or 2.5 million people, has been suspended this month due to financial constraints.
Ramesh Rajsingham, OCHA
Across the country, nearly 12 million people – more than half the population – do not have enough to eat and a further 2.9 million are at risk of starvation.
In the western part of the country, extreme heat is putting people at risk with more than 40 fires reported from the period between 15 and 17 July alone.
Despite these major shortcomings, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria is only 12.4 per cent funded,” he added, warning that in the absence of urgent funding, humanitarians will have to make “difficult choices again this year”.
“To give you an example of what this means in practice: beneficiaries of food assistance currently receive 50 percent of the standard ration. In addition, aid to up to 40 percent of them – or 2.5 million people – has been suspended this month due to financial shortages,” the UN aid official warned.
