Briefing to the Safety Council on the humanitarian state of affairs in Syria

27 September 2023

As delivered

Thanks, Mr. President.

From the humanitarian aspect, enable me to start, in the present day, on a constructive observe.

Final week noticed the resumption of United Nations humanitarian deliveries from Türkiye into north-west Syria by the Bab al-Hawa crossing. Since then, 65 vehicles have crossed, carrying well being and diet objects and different very important aid provides for greater than two million individuals. We count on extra vehicles to cross into the north-west within the coming days and weeks.

These are the primary support deliveries by Bab al-Hawa since 10 July, when the authorization beneath Safety Council Decision 2672 lapsed. United Nations personnel have additionally been capable of undergo this crossing, thereby enhancing our means to assist companions, monitor initiatives, interact with the communities we serve, and strengthen the safety atmosphere by presence on the bottom.

Within the interim, the United Nations and our companions have additionally used pre-positioned provides and deliveries by the Bab al-Salam and al-Ra’ee border crossings to maintain programmes all through north-west Syria.

Bab al-Hawa, nonetheless, stays the central channel for cross-border help from Türkiye into north-west Syria.

This growth signifies that we are able to perform deliveries on the scale required to satisfy the pressing wants of over 4 million individuals – 80 per cent of them girls and youngsters.

The reopening of Bab al-Hawa for UN cross-border support is the results of an understanding with the Authorities of Syria on the principled supply of UN cross-border help; of operational and safety assurances from the de facto authorities in Idlib; and of consultations with a variety of Member States, together with the Republic of Türkiye, and donors, NGOs, and different companions.

Mr. President,

The cross-border response extends past the motion of vehicles.

It means higher functioning of faculties, well being amenities and sanitation programs, and improved entry to protected ingesting water and life-saving safety help. It additionally consists of the supply of cash-based help.

Our dedication to offering humanitarian support by all means attainable, whether or not crossline or cross-border, stays unchanged.

Mr. President,

Because the Particular Envoy stated, an escalation of hostilities in northern Syria earlier this month supplied a stark reminder of the criticality of sustaining humanitarian help.

Renewed hostilities within the final three weeks within the north and north-east of Aleppo have quickly displaced, as beforehand referred to, tens of hundreds of individuals, a lot of whom have needed to sleep within the open attributable to overcrowding in displacement camps. Civilian casualties have additionally been reported, together with girls and youngsters. And 32 faculties have needed to cease instructional actions; 14 of them have been used as short-term shelters.

As well as, preventing within the north-east left 23 civilians reportedly killed and lots of extra injured in Deir-ez-Zor Governorate late final month, in keeping with the UN Workplace of the Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights. Tens of hundreds of individuals have been displaced, whereas those that remained confronted shortages of meals and medicines.

On Monday, a water station in Deir-ez-Zor was broken due to persevering with hostilities, leaving a minimum of 17,000 individuals – a lot of them displaced from different areas – with out entry to protected ingesting water.

Humanitarian staff are targeted on getting meals, water, well being and shelter help to affected individuals. Native organizations, together with grassroots girls’s organizations, play a essential function in guaranteeing this help equitably reaches these in want.

I strongly urge all of the events to those hostilities to uphold worldwide humanitarian regulation and take all possible precautions to keep away from and reduce civilian hurt.

Mr. President, distinguished delegates of the members of the Council,

Throughout the nation, households are grappling with the persevering with pressure of a deepening financial disaster, once more as Mr. Pedersen talked about.

The Syrian pound has misplaced greater than half its worth because the begin of this 12 months, whereas costs of important meals commodities have practically doubled.

At first of this 12 months, once more, half the inhabitants – some 12 million individuals – was meals insecure. The state of affairs has continued to worsen, and if these financial tendencies persist, we are going to doubtless see thousands and thousands extra slide into meals insecurity.

Mr. President,

All that is taking place in opposition to the backdrop of a pointy decline within the sources for the humanitarian response.

We have now simply three months left on this 12 months, and but the Humanitarian Response Plan for Syria stays lower than 30 per cent funded.

This implies many humanitarian companies are being pressured to make painful selections.

As reported in July, the World Meals Programme has needed to minimize help to 2.5 million individuals, whereas halving the usual ration for others.

The United Nations Excessive Commissioner for Refugees is having to additionally reduce and cut back important help programmes, together with interventions to reply to gender-based violence. Within the north-west, some 17 protected areas for girls and youngsters have been closed in the previous few months, and two dozen extra will probably be closed by the top of the 12 months if further funding shouldn’t be obtained.

Additional cuts to already underfunded gender-based violence programmes may have profound penalties for the survivors.

Ladies and women are paying a steep worth. Their basic rights, together with entry to providers which can be essential for his or her well being and well-being, have develop into a casualty of the battle. Ladies and women battle to entry healthcare, together with reproductive providers due to widespread injury to well being amenities, shortages of well being staff, as once more beforehand talked about, restricted transportation choices, lack of documentation, overcrowding and lengthy ready instances.

UNICEF informs us that funding shortfalls are compromising entry to training for thousands and thousands of youngsters and undermining pressing efforts to maintain water and sanitation programs important to stopping catastrophic public well being dangers, together with cholera.

Equally, the World Well being Group stories cuts to well being providers that have an effect on thousands and thousands of individuals and scale back important providers, together with little one immunization and illness surveillance.

Mr. President,

The resumption of the United Nations support deliveries by Bab al-Hawa is constructive information.

Nonetheless, as I’ve highlighted, huge humanitarian wants and safety dangers persist throughout the nation.

Way more remains to be wanted for thousands and thousands of individuals all through Syria to reclaim a protected and dignified life.

Thanks.